MEA: 1K Indians still in Iran, 23K students in Gulf could not appear in CBSE exams

New Delhi: Nearly 1,000 Indians are still in Iran amidst the ongoing conflict in West Asia while 23,000 school students based in the Gulf region could not appear in the CBSE final examinations due to the turmoil.

This was conveyed by the Ministry of External Affairs to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs at a meeting held here on Wednesday.

“Well, there are about 1,000 still in Iran, but not all of them necessarily wish to leave,” chairman of the panel Shashi Tharoor told reporters here after the meeting.

The Congress leader said Class 10 and Class 12 students based in the Gulf region have not been able to write their ongoing CBSE final examinations.

“I asked if there could be any steps taken to address their plight. And I gathered that there has already been consultations between the MEA and the Ministry of Education about ensuring that CBSE makes remedial arrangements for 23,000 students in the Gulf who could not write the exams,” he said.

Tharoor said the meeting had comprehensive discussions on West Asia and all attendee MPs had questions and concerns about the overall situation, the impact, the safety and security of Indian nationals, the diaspora, the oil and gas supplies, etc.

“We got some answers. We didn’t get it all. The foreign secretary was not available,” he said.

Sources said the members asked questions related to “India’s silence” on condemning the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and “condoling deaths of civilians” but no answer came from the MEA officials.