Practical exams for Intermediate students have been postponed in Telangana, the state Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) announced on May 27. The practical exams for Intermediate second-year general courses, and first and second-year vocational courses, were earlier scheduled to be held from May 29 to June 7. In view of the pandemic situation and the lockdown in Telangana, these exams have been indefinitely postponed. A review on the matter will be held in the first week of June, and the new schedule will be announced 15 days before the exams begin, TSBIE Secretary Syed Omer Jaleel said in a press release.
The regular Intermediate exams for second-year students (equivalent to Class 12) were also postponed in April. The exams were earlier set to be conducted from May 1 to May 19. It was announced that Intermediate first-year students would be promoted without any exams. The Class 10 or SSC exams, scheduled to be held from May 17, were also cancelled. The decisions were announced soon after CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) announced the cancellation of its Class 10 board exams and the postponement of Class 12 board exams. Telangana recently declared the results of Class 10 exams, based on internal assessments.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said that a final decision on conducting Class 12 board exams will be taken June 1, following a high-level meeting held on May 23. While some states like Maharashtra suggested a non-examination route for Class 12 students, the Kerala and Delhi governments suggested that students be vaccinated before they appear for exams. The CBSE is reportedly considering conducting the Class 12 exams between July 15 and August 26, and it has been reported that the Telangana Education Department is likely to take a similar route as the CBSE with Intermediate second-year exams.