Andhra Pradesh Secondary School Certificate examinations (SSC) for Class 10 have been cancelled by the state government. Education Minister Aadimulapu Suresh made the announcement on Saturday, in view of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state. All students would be promoted.

Intermediate Advanced Supplementary examinations to be held in July also stand cancelled.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, the Education Minister said that the decision had been taken in view of students’ health.

“We have tried our best to conduct the SSC examinations from July 10 and made changes to the exam pattern to reduce the exposure for the students. However, with the increase of COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed to cancel the examinations,” he said.

Ministry officials visited the Chief Minister on Thursday to discuss the cancellation amid growing concern from students and parents.

“Despite making foolproof arrangements, students might meet each other after exams, and there are several uncontrollable factors involved, through which, students might get infected with the coronavirus. There are several surveys claiming that the number of cases would only increase in the coming days, and the number of containment zones are also increasing. In these circumstances, coordination between various departments to conduct these exams would be risky. Hence, we have decided to cancel the examinations,” said the Minster.

Minister Suresh said that the Chief Minister, while deciding to cancel exams, had told Ministry officials that no mother should be worried about their child’s health.

Class 10 students will be graded based on their merit and guidelines on it will be announced soon, he said.

Advanced Supplementary and Improvement examinations for Intermediate students have also been cancelled for the academic year. The students who failed in their first and second years would be considered passed.

Earlier, SSC exams were scheduled between July 10 and July 17. Arrangements to hold the exams as per schedule included increasing the number of examination centres and limiting the number of subject papers from 11 to six.

Neighbouring states including Telangana and Tamil Nadu too have cancelled board examinations due to the pandemic.