Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced that board examinations for Class 12 conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) has been cancelled, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Informing about the decision, Patnaik said, "Students life is more important than exams. Life first, everything else is secondary, as long as life is safe, there will be eternal possibility and society and civilisation will move forward."
He said that the measure has been taken in the greater interest of students. "The health safety of our children is much more important than the Examination. Students, teachers and parents would have been in a lot of trouble if the examination were conducted. The State Government has therefore taken this important decision regarding the cancellation of examination in the greater interest of the student community."
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has directed the CHSE to assess the competence of the students, within the stipulated time through well defined objective criteria.
"If any student is not satisfied with the assessment, they can take the examination if they want, which will be conducted after reviewing the situation by the Higher Secondary Education Council," he said.
This step comes days after the Central government announced cancelling the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 board exams, in a review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
State governments including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh had earlier announced the cancellation of board examinations for Class 12, in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the states.
According to the official data released by the state, Odisha registered 7,729 new cases on COVID-19 on Friday. There are 82,679 active cases in the state, while 7,13,055 people have recovered from the infection since the onset of the pandemic. (ANI)