Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to postpone the annual matric and Plus II exams amid the spiralling cases of COVID-19.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said that a decision to put the examinations on hold was taken keeping in view the safety of the students.
The matric exam was scheduled to begin on May 3 and Plus II from May 18.
The announcement came a day after the CBSE decided to cancel the Class X board exams and postpone that for Class XII.
The CM further said that all schools and hostels in the state will remain closed from Monday (April 19).
The government will take a decision on conducting these examinations and reschedule the date after reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the first week of June. The students will be given an appropriate time for preparation, he added.
Other decisions are as follows:
—Students of Class IX and XI, who have taken admission in the 2020-21 academic session, will be given a promotion to the next class without appearing in the annual examination.
— The order of the state government will be applicable to all government, government-aided and private schools affiliated to the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) and the Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya Sangathan.