The Goa government has not yet thought of cancelling the state board exams of Classes 10 and 12 in the wake of the COVID-19 surge, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said. The final exams of Classes 10 and 12 of the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education are scheduled to be held from April 24. Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, Sawant said, Right now, we have not thought of cancelling any board exams.

We will ensure that all measures (related to COVID-19 prevention) are taken when the students appear for their exams. " The Goa education department has already allowed examinations of other classes to be held online after the fresh outbreak of COVID-19 in the state, he said. Sawant noted that the board exams were held successfully in the state last year amid the pandemic by following all the necessary measures to prevent spread of the virus.

Only 11 students were allowed to sit in one examination hall last year to maintain proper social distancing, he said. The CBSE on Wednesday cancelled its exams for Class 10 and deferred those for Class 12. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra have also postponed their state board exams for these classes due to an alarming surge in coronavirus cases.

States like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have said they are monitoring the situation and are yet to decide whether to go ahead with the board exams. Karnataka has said it will conduct the exams as scheduled. On Wednesday, Goa recorded 473 fresh cases of COVID-19 and four more casualties due to the disease. With this, the tally of infections in the state has reached 63,815, while the toll has mounted to 857, as per official data.