Not feasible now to conduct pending class 10, 12 board exams: Sisodia tells HRD minister

It is not feasible now to conduct class 10 and 12 board exams which are pending due to the lockdown imposed to curb the COVID-19 spread, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia suggested Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Tuesday.

He made the recommendations during a meeting of state education ministers chaired by the Human Resource Development (HRD) minister.

"It will not be feasible now to conduct pending board exams for classes 10, 12. Students should be promoted on the basis of performance in internal exams like it was done for classes 9, 11," Sisodia said.

"The curriculum for the next academic session should reduced by 30 per cent and competitive exams like JEE, NEET be conducted on the basis of reduced syllabus," he added.

Sisodia also put forward the Delhi government's demand of airtime on Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR) for broadcasting of on-air classes by teachers of its schools.

Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16 when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as one of the measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Later, a nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, which has now been extended till May 3.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had earlier this month announced that it will be conducting pending board exams for only 29 subjects, which are crucial for promotion and admission in undergraduate programmes.

However, there is no clarity on when exams will be conducted even as the HRD Ministry has assured that students will be given at least a 10-day notice before the conduct of exams.

Responding to a question of conducting the remaining board exams, Pokhriyal had told parents in an interaction on Monday that the pending exams will be conducted at the first possible opportunity.