CBSE Class 10 board exam suspended for 2020

New Delhi, May 06: In a major development, the Centre said that the Class 10th exam of the CBSE board, which was postponed due to COVID-19 will not be conducted now.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development said that the CBSE Class 10 Board exams will not be conducted in any part of the country except for northeast Delhi, which was hit by riots in February.

Interacting with students across the country through a webinar, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishankj said that the class 10 exams will not be held nationwide except for students from northeast Delhi. He said that adequate time of 10 days will be given for those taking the exams.

He also clarified that the students in northeast Delhi who had already appeared for the exam need not appear for the same. "These exams will be conducted again for those few students who could not appear in these exams on the scheduled date due to the impact of law and order issues on them," the HRD Ministry said in a statement.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had earlier said it will conduct 'only' the important examinations of class 12 students.

In a circular published on April 1, the CBSE had also announced that that it will not conduct pending board examinations for students who had registered from abroad. The Board cited logistics issues behind the decision.

The minister has also announced today that engineering entrance examination JEE Main will be held from July 18-23, while medical entrance exam NEET will be conducted on July 26. The two crucial exams were postponed due to the lockdown imposed in the country to combat COVID-19.

"JEE-Mains will be held from July 18-23, while JEE-Advanced will be held in August. NEET will be conducted on July 26," Nishank said.

"A decision will soon be taken on the pending CBSE Class 10, 12 board exams," he added.

While the Joint Entrance Exam-Mains (JEE-MAINS) is conducted for admission to engineering colleges across the country, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is for admission to medical colleges.