Deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma on Wednesday said the UP Board will review the upcoming high school and intermediate exam keeping in mind the welfare of students following a surge in Covid-19 cases.
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 10 exams have been cancelled and the class 12 exam postponed earlier in the day in view of the Covid-19 situation.
Hailing the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on the CBSE examinations, Sharma said, “We will also review the upcoming UP board exams for high school and intermediate especially in the wake of Covid-19 cases in the state. The safety of students is paramount and will take a call soon.”
He also said, “Currently, additional chief secretary (secondary education) Aradhana Shukla and several other senior officials of secondary education have tested positive for Covid-19. Once they resume their official work, we will hold a review meeting in the light of decision taken by the CBSE board.”
More than 56 lakh students are registered to appear in UP board exams, which have already been postponed once because of the panchayat elections.
{{/usCountry}}More than 56 lakh students are registered to appear in UP board exams, which have already been postponed once because of the panchayat elections.
{{/usCountry}}Recently, the UP Board High School (Class 10) and Intermediate (Class 12) examinations had been postponed till May 8. Earlier, the exams were scheduled to begin on April 24. The decision to reschedule the exams was taken view of the panchayat elections in the state.
The class 10 exams are supposed go on for 12 working days and conclude on May 25. Likewise, the class 12 exams will be completed in 15 working days and end on May 28, an official said earlier.
Hindi and Elementary Hindi will be the first exam for high school students while Hindi and General Hindi will be the first papers for Intermediate (class 12) students on May 8. The last paper of high school will be Mathematics on May 25. For intermediate, it will be civics scheduled on May 28, according to the revised date sheet.
This year, 29,94,312 examinees, including 16,74,022 boys and 13,20,290 girls, are registered for the high school examination. Similarly, 26,09,501 examinees, including 14,73,771 boys and 11,35,730 girls, are registered for the intermediate exam.
Last year, the UP Board exams began on February 18 and concluded in the first week of March before the lockdown. This year, the exam was delayed by nearly two months as schools remained closed for months in wake of the Covid pandemic. Classes from 9 to 12 began in October 2020.