Mumbai: The Maharashtra Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray unanimously approved the cancellation of Class 12 HSC board examinations in view of the ongoing second wave of Covid-19 and a possible third wave. The cabinet gave its in-principle approval and the final decision will be announced in a day or two, after addressing legal and technical issues. The Maharashtra HSC exam issue is still pending before the Bombay High Court and the government needs to take formal approval of the state disaster management authority for the cancellation of the exams.
The decision comes a day after the Centre cancelled the CBSE Class 12 board exams.
“The Maharashtra Government will take the final call on the pending HSC final exams in a day or two. The health and safety of students is top priority for the state government. A proposal regarding Class 12 exams has been sent to the state disaster management authority,” said School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad.
Gaikwad had, in a series of tweets on June 1, welcomed the Centre’s decision to cancel the CBSE Class 12 board exams. “In view of the current status of the pandemic, projections that children are vulnerable to newer strains and the anxiety among them, the Maharashtra government had demanded that a "Non-Examination Route" be considered for Std XIIth students. I welcome the Centre's decision to cancel the CBSE board exams,” Gaikwad had tweeted.
“The decision regarding the state board’s Std. XII exams will also soon be taken keeping the student's health and safety in mind,” Gaikwad said."Students have been studying in class 12th for over 14 months. Personally, I believe that we should remove the uncertainty regarding exams & take a decision that is in students’ interest,” said the minister.
Further, Gaikwad said the fact that as most professional courses conduct entrance exams for admissions, many experts are of the view that it is possible to evaluate the performance of Class 12 students on the basis of a retroactive assessment model.
The state government earlier had announced the cancellation of the Class 10 SSC board exams, citing the present coronavirus pandemic and had decided to promote students on the basis of their performance in Classes 9 and 10.
