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Assam cancels Class 10, 12 boards; committees to be set up for evaluation
Assam is one of the few states in the country that had not decided on whether to conduct the board exams even after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announcement on not holding the board exams this year.
Ending weeks of confusion and speculation, the Assam government on Friday decided to cancel Class 10 and Class 12 board exams this year in view of the prevailing Covid-19 scenario in the state.
Education minister Ranoj Pegu made the announcement after a meeting with various student organizations and stakeholders in Guwahati. Two committees have been formed to decide on the evaluation process to be followed for both classes.
“Due to the present Covid-19 situation in the state and positivity rate still not being under control, we have after talks with stakeholders decided not to conduct the Class 10 and Class 12 board exams this year,” said Pegu while addressing a press conference after the meeting.
“In order to decide on the norms to be followed to evaluate the students of both these classes, we will form two different committees on Saturday. They will have to submit a formula of evaluation within a week. Results of both the classes will be announced within July 31,” he added.
Assam is one of the few states in the country that had not decided on whether to conduct the board exams even after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announcement on not holding the board exams this year.
While the Class 10 board exams are conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) Class 12 exams are conducted by the Assam State Higher Secondary Education Council (ASHEC).
Earlier this month, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had announced that the board exams will be conducted in mid-July if the positivity rate of Covid-19 infections in the state dipped below 2% by July 1.
On Wednesday, following the state health department’s advice that conducting exams at this stage might not be conducive, the state cabinet had recommended not to hold the exams this year.
“We had been informed by the health department that in May and June around 14% of the total Covid-19 infections in Assam were of those in the below 18 years category,” said Pegu. “Though the overall Covid-19 scenario in the state has improved marginally and the positivity rate has come down to between 2% and 3%, there are still some districts where the situation is very worrying,” he added.
Several students from the state had filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court this week seeking cancellation of the board exams. Nearly 700,000 students (of both classes) were to appear for their exams this year.
On Thursday, Assam recorded 3,477 new Covid-19 cases and 41 deaths. The rate of positivity stood at 2.25%. At present there are around 38,000 active cases of Covid-19 in the state.
