CBSE cancels Class 10 exam, delays Class 12 in Gulf countries amid Iran war

CBSE has said that class 10 board exams have been cancelled in the West Asian countries till Mar 11, while the class 12 exams for March 7 have been postponed amid the ongoing Iran-Israel war

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has cancelled all Class 10 board examinations and postponed the remaining exams in the West Asian region, including Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. According to the board’s announcement, the Class 10 exams scheduled for March 7 and March 11 have been cancelled, along with the papers earlier postponed on March 2, March 5 and March 6.

 

The board further said that the process for declaring the Class 10 results for students in the West Asia region will be notified separately in due course.

CBSE board exams update in the Gulf countries

The board stated in a notification that the decision impacts students at CBSE-affiliated schools in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, citing the present security situation in the region.

 

Indian ambassadors in each of the seven impacted nations, the Indian Consul General in Dubai, and the regional office of CBSE in the United Arab Emirates have all been instructed to take action on the circular. When the postponed exams will be rescheduled has not been specified.

 

The CBSE had already issued a warning in a different notice about a phoney circular that was making the rounds online, claiming that the Class 10 and Class 12 board exams in the Middle East had been cancelled. Students and other stakeholders were alarmed by the fake letter, which claimed cancellations due to "extraordinary global circumstances and warlike conditions." 

More about the CBSE Middle-East board exams 2026 update

Changes for Classes 10 and 12 this year have been announced by the board. In the meantime, starting in 2026, the CBSE will implement "On-Screen Marking" (OSM) for Class 12 board exams.

 

The Board claims that this will be a "much-needed shift" from a wholly digital assessment system to a physical inspection of response papers. According to the board, up to 18, 57,479 (18 lakh) students are anticipated to take the Class 12 Board Exams in 2026 across 120 disciplines.

 

An estimated 1,00,44,295 (10.4 crore) answer books would be handled by the board. According to Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj, Controller of Examinations, the CBSE is switching to digital assessment because of the size of the exams, which also cover multiple locations overseas.