Kolkata: The state Education Department has deferred the ongoing Higher Secondary Examination until April 15. Examinations for Class XI has also been postponed till April 15. The move comes as a preventive measure to combat the spread of COVID-19 in Bengal.
Examinations scheduled on March 23, 25 and 27 have been postponed. State Education minister Partha Chatterjee said that the situation will be reviewed and then the Council will take a call on the revised dates.
Examinations for subjects including Physics, Nutrition, Education and Accountancy were scheduled on March 23, Chemistry, Economics, Journalism & Mass Communication, Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic and French examinations were to be held on March 25 while Statistics, Geography, Costing and Taxation, Home Management and Family Resource Management papers were scheduled on March 27. The examination started from March 12 and students have already appeared for several papers. The state government has already declared the closure of all institutions across Bengal till April 15.
"Even after the notification issued by the state Education Department, some private schools in the city are flouting the same. We are appealing to all these schools to abide by the directives and take necessary precautionary measures," Chatterjee said.
The ICSE Board has postponed its Class X and XII examinations that were scheduled from March 19 to 31 and has announced that the revised dates will be announced after the situation improves. CBSE has also deferred its Class X and XII examinations scheduled between March 19 and 31.
The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2020 has been postponed by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The examination is conducted for admission to IITs and engineering colleges. UGC has also announced the postponement of all examinations at the university level till situation normalises.