Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' has advised CBSE to promote ALL students studying in classes I-VIII to the next class/grade.  In view of the current situation due to COVID-19. He also advised the board students studying in classes IX & XI will be promoted to next class/grade based on the school-based assessments including projects, periodic tests, term exams, etc. conducted so far. The Minister also recommended to conduct board examinations only for 29 main subjects that are required for promotion and maybe crucial for admissions in HEIs, and for rest of the subjects, the Board will not hold examinations; the instructions for marking/assessment in all such cases shall be separately issued by the Board.

As a precautionary measure and in compliance of the instructions received from Ministry of HRD, Government of India, dated 18^th March, 2020, CBSE had postponed all the board examinations that were to be held between 19.03.2020 to 31.03.2020. It was informed in the Board’s press release dated 18.3.20 that “date sheets for the rescheduled board examinations shall be communicated by the board through its website and press release after re-assessment of the situation.”   

The Board is committed to the academic welfare of its students; therefore, the Board is constantly assessing the situation, and is keen to mitigate the anxiety of the students, parents, and schools. As per suggestion of HRD Ministry in view of the prevailing extraordinary circumstances of the worldwide spread of COVID-19 and the countrywide lockdown, and in view of the queries raised by our stakeholders regarding the academic future of students, the Board advises/informs all schools affiliated to the Board as follows as a one-time measure:

1. For classes 1 to 8: All students studying in classes 1 to 8 maybe promoted to the next class/grade. This advisory is being issued in consultation with NCERT.
2. For classes 9 and 11: It has come to our notice that though several schools affiliated to CBSE have completed their examination, evaluation and promotion process for students who were studying in grades 9 and 11 in the 2019-20 academic session, there are several schools that have not been able to do so. This includes among others, Kendriaya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, State/UT government schools, private schools, schools located in India and abroad, etc. All such schools are advised to promote students of grades 9 and 11 to the next grades on the basis of all the school-based assessments including project work, periodic tests, term exams, etc. conducted so far. For any child who is unable to clear this internal process, (in any number of subjects), the school may utilise this period for providing remedial interventions, and school may give the opportunity of appearing in school-based test/s, online or offline. The promotion of such children may be decided on the basis of such tests.
3. Schedule for class 10 and 12 board exams: With regard to rescheduling board examinations for classes 10 and 12, it is informed that at this stage it is difficult for the Board to decide and announce the new schedule for examinations. However, it is informed that any decision that the board will take with regard to the conduct of examinations will be taken by undertaking extensive consultation with higher education authorities and by keeping all aspects related to entrance exams, admissions dates, etc. in mind. In this context, it is further informed that the Board will give notice of about 10 days to all stakeholders before starting the Board examinations.
4. Subjects for Board exams: It is informed that the Board was not able to conduct exams on 8 examination days due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Further, due to the law and order situation in North East Delhi District the board was not able to conduct exams on 4 examination days, while a very small number of students from and around this District were not able to appear in exams on 6 examination days.

Considering the extraordinary circumstances, the Board has been forced to review its policy in this regard. Under ordinary circumstances, the Board would not have hesitated to conduct all examinations that could not be held after 18^th March, 2020 or are postponed for other reasons. But in the present situation, the Board has decided as follows:

• The Board will conduct examinations for only main subjects that will be required for promotion and maybe crucial for admissions in higher educational institutions.
• For the rest of the subjects, the Board will not hold examinations; the instructions for marking/assessment in all such cases shall be separately issued by the Board.
• Therefore, as and when the Board is in a position to hold examinations, it shall hold examinations only for the following 29 subjects:

5. CBSE schools in foreign countries: There are several CBSE schools located in 25 countries. Each of these countries are also under lockdown and/or have decided to close down the schools for various and differential lengths of time. Under such circumstances, it is felt that the Board will not be in a position to hold differential set of exams for each of these countries.  Also, in the present situation, it will be difficult to bring the answer books to India for evaluation purposes. Therefore, the Board has decided to not hold any more exams for the students of class 10 and 12 schools located outside India. The system of marking/assessment for the purpose of declaring results will be worked out by the Board shortly and informed to these schools.
6. Evaluation work: Due to present situation, the Board has not been able to continue its evaluation work. The Board will come out with further instructions for evaluating in the changed circumstances. These instructions, and dates for restart of evaluation work in various evaluation centres in the country can also not be announced at this stage. However, the Board will give 3-4 days’ notice to restart the evaluation work, which maybe noted by all the Chief Nodal Supervisors, Head Examiners, Evaluators, Coordinators, etc. of Evaluation Centers.
7. Avoid rumours: To avoid being misled by rumours, all stakeholders are hereby informed to only trust the official announcements by the Board that are made on the Board’s website. All are requested to check for latest developments only on the Board’s website, that is www.cbse.nic.in or its social media as follows:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/cbse_hq_1929  
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/@cbseindia29
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cbseindia29/

8. Schools to inform all students: All schools are requested to ensure that this information is disseminated to all concerned students by the respective schools.

*******

NB/AKJ/AK