Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: Amid the unabated rise in the COVID-19 cases in the country, the demand to cancel the CBSE board exams 2021 has grown louder with several politicians and organisations coming out in support of either cancellation or postponement of the scheduled class 10 and class 12 board examinations.
Speaking against conducting the exams during the current pandemic, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday urged the Narendra Modi government to cancel the CBSE board exams 2021 in view of the sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the national capital.
Expressing his concerns, Kejriwal said that the examination centers may emerge as COVID hotspots if the exams are conducted with the participation of lakhs of students and teachers and hence, the Centre should consider conducting the CBSE board exams virtually.
“Six lakh children in Delhi are going to write CBSE exams. Nearly one lakh teachers will be a part of it. These (the centres) can become major hotspots leading to large-scale spreading of corona. Children’s lives and health are very important to us. I request the Centre to cancel the CBSE exams,” said the Delhi CM.
Kejriwal’s comments come just days after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi wrote to Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank seeking cancellation of the CBSE Board exams 2021, stating that the safety of students couldn’t be ensured if the exams are conducted.
“The Government and the CBSE board might want to consider whether they are prepared to own the legal liability for students or others who might be severely affected by the disease in this manner,” she said.
These apart, thousands of students joined hands as part of a Twitter campaign to trend #cancelboardexams2021 and #PahleJaanFirExam to raise their voice against holding the upcoming examinations. However, the CBSE has reiterated that all the class 10 and 12 exams will be conducted as per the schedule and will start next month from May 4, 2021.
On the other hand, the Maharashtra government on Monday postponed the SSC (Class 10) and HSC (Class 12) exams in view of the rising coronavirus cases in the state. The state will now conduct the HSC exams at the end of May while the SSC exams will be conducted in June 2021.