New Delhi: Students and parents heaved a sigh of relief as the government announced the cancellation of the Class 12 board examination on Tuesday in view of the coronavirus situation.
The "cancelboardexams" hashtag which had been trending on Twitter for a fortnight gave way to the "boardexamscancelled" chorus within minutes of the announcement.
The government on Tuesday decided to cancel the CBSE Class 12 board exams amid the COVID-19 pandemic with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that the decision has been taken in the interest of students and the anxiety among students, parents and teachers must be put to an end.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Modi in which it was decided that the CBSE will take steps to compile the results of Class 12 students as per a well-defined objective criteria in a time-bound manner.
"The delay in holding exams was getting on my nerves. Preparing for exams wasn't the issue but the uncertainty was affecting me badly," said Supriya Bamba, a Class 12 student.
Another student, Mamoor Akhter, shared on Twitter, "Thankful for the announcement of the cancellation of CBSE Class XII Board Exams this year. The student-friendly decision, keeping health & safety of our youth paramount, will bring great relief to anxious parents & teachers as well."
For Ayush Gautam, the decision has brought a "big relief" while for Ruhi Bansal, it is the end of anxiety as she packs her bag for Ireland where she has already secured an admission.
"I was really worried if the exams will be postponed to August, I will not be able to report on time for my semester even if the university granted me some relief on account of Covid situation. I am glad the anxiety is over," she said.
Parents also heaved a sigh of relief and thanked the government for taking a "considerate" decision.
"It is definitely a considerate decision. It was long-awaited," said Priya Sharma, mother of a Class 12 student.
For Ritu Dhiman, the decision has ended anxiety about the risk of COVID-19 infection if her son goes to exam centres.
"However, the actual relief will come when the evaluation criteria is announced so we know that the efforts of good students will not go waste," she said.
The CBSE had on April 14 announced the cancellation of Class 10 exams and postponement of Class 12 exams in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.
According to the evaluation criteria announced for class 10 students, while 20 marks for each subject will be for internal assessment as every year, 80 marks will be calculated on basis of the students' performance in various tests or exams throughout the year.
Amid continuing demands for cancellation of exams by a large section of students and parents, the ministry had called a high-level meeting last Sunday to deliberate on the issue which was also attended by state education ministers and education secretaries.