Delhi govt tells CBSE to postpone board exams to May, further reduce syllabus

Delhi Government has written a letter to the Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE, urging it to postpone the March 2021 Board Examinations to May.

The state government has also asked the central board to consider reducing the CBSE 10th 12th Board Exam 2021 syllabus further, as the schools continue to remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While the Centre has laid out guidelines to reopen the schools and educational institutions, many states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Odisha have decided to keep the schools closed at least October 31.

"Though online, semi-online teaching-learning activities are being conducted through live classes as well as worksheets or activity sheets it cannot replace the physical classroom teaching-learning process," the DoE said in the letter.

The government had requested the Board to waive the fees this year, but the Board said it is not possible to do so. The government, which had covered this fee last year, is not doing so this year citing a revenue crunch.

The educational institutes across the country, including schools and universities, were shut down on March 16 to control and limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus among the students. While several restrictions have been eased gradually in different phases of the ''unlock'' since June 8, educational institutions continue to remain closed.

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently released the Unlock 5 guidelines, in which it stated that schools, colleges, and other educational institutions outside Covid-19 containment zones can reopen after October 15.