Coronavirus lockdown | CBSE students can shift exam venues

They can write the Class 10 & 12 exams in their current district, says HRD Minister

Responding to demands from thousands of students who have been forced to move or been stranded during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has permitted Class 10 and 12 candidates to write their examinations wherever they are now.

“Students who are currently not in the same district as their board examination centres due to lockdown, I have advised CBSE to shift your examination centre to your current district,” said Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in a tweet on Wednesday. He advised such students to get in touch with their schools for further information.

13,000 centres

The CBSE had earlier expanded its list of examination centres from 3,000 to 13,000 to allow students a wider choice of venues, and also make it easier to implement social distancing norms.

The move comes as a relief to students who had been studying in coaching centres or residential schools and had initially selected examination centres in these locations. During the lockdown, these students returned to their home districts, including those from Navodaya and Kendriya Vidyalayas run by the HRD Ministry. Other students have also been forced to shift from the cities they studied in to their villages, often in other States, during the exodus of migrant worker families.

The CBSE board examinations were on when schools closed in March, and 29 pending papers have now been rescheduled to be held in the first two weeks of July. Class 12 students have pending papers, along with Class 10 students whose examinations were disrupted by the Delhi riots in February.