The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) on Friday postponed the board exams for classes 10 and 12 amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases across the country. The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, which conducts the ICSE tests, said that the new dates will be announced in the first week of June. In a statement, the board said, "The Covid situation will be closely monitored and the deferment of the ICSE and ISC 2021 examinations will be reviewed and a final decision on the conduct of the examinations will be taken by the first week of June 2021."
The ICSE or Class 10 exam was scheduled to begin on 4 May and end by 7 June, while ISC or Class 12 exam would begin on 8 April and would end on 18 June, 2021.While ISC final exams will be held later, Class 10 or ICSE students will have the option to take their board exams offline. They can also choose not to appear in the offline exam, the board said. Earlier, The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on April 14 postponed its Class 12 exams and cancelled Class 10 final exams. CBSE had said it will develop an “objective criterion” to evaluate and promote Class 10 students. Soon after CBSE’s announcement, students from schools affiliated to the CISCE also requested a similar decision for their exams.