Despite protests and petitions, the Andhra Pradesh government says that it will go ahead and conduct its Class XII examinations in the month of July. In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, the state said that it will conduct the exams with all the safety precautions in place at the end of July. Since the onset of the second wave of the pandemic, a large number of students and parents have been asking the state to cancel the examination.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the six states in the country that hasn't cancelled its exams this year. On Tuesday, Kerala too had told the apex court that it will conduct the examination. The court had asked the states for an explanation about this after a petition was moved by Mumbai-based lawyer Anubha Shrivastava Sahai, seeking postponement of all state board and NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) examinations. The petition was set to be heard on June 23.

The affidavit submitted was starkly clear, "The state of Andhra Pradesh has carefully examined the situation and is of the view that it will be able to successfully conduct examinations for Class XII students. The COVID numbers are fast declining in the state," reads the affidavit.

Andhra Pradesh has been one of the first states in South India to ease restrictions on the lockdown and move towards normalcy. Telangana has completely removed the lockdown, while Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala are in various stages of unlock. 

On June 1, considering the high number of COVID cases in the country, the CBSE and the ICSE had cancelled conducting the Class XII examinations. The boards had then decided to evaluate the students based on internal assessments. Around the same time, many state boards followed suit. The court is yet to deliver its verdict on the matter.