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Class 10 board exams have been cancelled and Class 12 exams have been deferred because of a nationwide Covid surge that had led to demands by parents, students, politicians and various states for a government rethink. The big announcement affecting over 35 lakh students followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting this afternoon with the Education Minister and top officers.

The CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) exams for Class 12, which were to be held from May 4 to June 14, have been postponed, said Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in tweets. A decision will be taken on fresh dates on June 1, he said, adding that students will have at least 15 days’ notice before the exams.

On the Class 10 exams that were cancelled, the minister said the results would be prepared “on the basis of an objective criterion to be developed by the Board” and students not satisfied with their marks would be given the chance to take the exams whenever they can be held.

For schools under the ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) board, a decision is yet to be announced.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the Delhi government will be writing to the Centre asking journalists to be treated as frontline workers and be allowed vaccination on priority.

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En esta imagen de archivo, tomada el 26 de enero de 2021, la jefa ejecutiva de Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, escucha las preguntas de reporteros durante una conferencia de prensa en Hong Kong. (AP Foto/Vincent Yu, archivo) (Vincent Yu)

“Journalists are reporting from most adverse situations. They should be treated as frontline workers and should be allowed vaccination on priority. Delhi government is writing to the Centre in this regard,” he tweeted.

The Federation of All India Medical Association, meanwhile, also wrote to the Prime Minister on Thursday requesting that journalists be treated as frontline workers.

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—  Rakesh Hegde

“Journalists cannot work from home, and have put their lives and health at risk on a daily basis to cover both the Covid-19 pandemic and other matters of public concern, including matters critical to health and safety of the public and critical to our democracy… While others have the option to walk away from large crowds, or to avoid members of the public that don’t follow ICMR health guidelines, these journalists repeatedly put their own safety at risk to document what is occurring and inform their communities – large and small. As a result, we have seen journalists become infected, hospitalised and even, unfortunately, succumb to Covid-19,” FAIMA wrote.