The Central Board of Secondary Education on Thursday postponed the Class 10 and Class 12 examinations scheduled on February 28 and 29 in North East Delhi and other areas affected by clashes in view of the continuing violence over the Citizenship Act. Students from the other parts of the national Capital will take the exam as scheduled.
The board said the new dates will be announced shortly. However, examinations across all centres in the national Capital will be held as per the original schedule from March 2, it added.
Earlier on Thursday, the board said it would also conduct fresh examinations for the students who missed them due to violence in North East Delhi. On the past two days, the board had postponed Class 10 and Class 12 examinations only for 80 centres in North East Delhi and East Delhi.
The board said it had learnt about students living in violence-hit areas who were not able to take their exams as their centres were in unaffected areas – and vice-versa. The board said all schools have been directed to send details of all such students to regional offices. “To reduce the stress on students, the board will conduct fresh exams for these students,” the board said.
A fresh date will be announced shortly, the board said.
Violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act, which began on Sunday, has claimed 34 lives as of Thursday. More reports of arson and unrest poured in from North East Delhi’s Bhajanpura, Maujpur and Karawal Nagar areas late on Wednesday, hours after National Security Advisor Ajit Doval took charge of the security situation and attempted to establish order in the affected areas.
On Wednesday, the board had postponed the Class 12 English examination scheduled for Thursday at 80 centres in North East Delhi and East Delhi. On Tuesday, the CBSE had postponed Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations at 86 centres in North East Delhi.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday had asked the Central Board of Secondary Education to inform Class 10 and Class 12 students about a long-term plan for conducting examinations in centres where clashes erupted.
The court said the students need to be informed in one go about the schedule for the next 10 to 15 days and not on a daily basis. It also asked the board to look at other alternatives, especially with regard to Class 12 examinations.
On Tuesday, the court had ruled that the safety of children cannot be put at risk and asked the board to decide as soon as possible on rescheduling Wednesday’s board exams at one of the centres in North East Delhi.
Students who spoke to media persons had said it was difficult for them to reach the examination centres due to clashes over the amended citizenship law. The violent clashes have claimed at least 24 lives so far, and 180 people have been wounded.
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