The CISCE on Friday deferred the board exams of classes X and XII in view of a rise in COVID-19 cases across the country.

In light of the nationwide surge in coronavirus cases, the class X and XII exams which were to be held from May 4 have been deferred, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations' chief executive and secretary Gerry Arathoon said. "We will closely monitor the situation and review it in the first week of June to take a final decision on conduct of examination," he said. "While class XII exams will be conducted at a later stage, class X students will get an option to either appear in offline exams later or get evaluated on basis of fair and unbiased criteria to be developed by board," Arathoon added.

Earlier this week, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had cancelled its class X board exams and deferred the class XII board exams. Several state boards have postponed or cancelled their exams too.