CBSE puts off exams due to coronavirus but Class 12 students turn up to take Punjabi exam in Chandigarh
Some say they were unaware of the board’s decision, while others admitted they had learnt of it but didn’t want to take any chances
Even as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) postponed all examinations of Classes 10 and Class 12 on Wednesday night amid the coronavirus outbreak, many students arrived at examination centres in Chandigarh on Thursday morning to take the regional language exam.
Some of them said that they were unaware of the CBSE’s decision, while others admitted they didn’t want to take any chances.
They were turned back by the examination centre superintendents.
According to the date-sheet, the Class 12 exam of regional languages was scheduled for Thursday and the students from schools of Chandigarh were to take the Punjabi language paper. No exam was scheduled for Class 10.
Yogeeta Khanna, a teacher at a government school in Sector 16, Chandigarh, said the last-minute decision to put off the exam had led to “a bit of chaos as the news spread like fire.”
Shagun Dhiman, a student who was to take the exam at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 37, said: “I was not aware that my exam had been postponed. I got to know about it only on reaching the centre today. Though I had come prepared for the Punjabi exam, still I’m happy it got postponed. It will give me more time to prepare better.”
Monica Bagga, a teacher at a private school in Chandigarh said, “We got the news on Thursday morning. We tried to inform more and more students, still many came to take the exam. We sent an email to the parents and also an alert on WhatsApp groups along with the CBSE circular.”
Muskaan, another student who appeared for the Punjabi exam at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 38, said, “I was told by my neighbour that the exam has been postponed but I didn’t want to take any chance and came to check for myself.”
The CBSE postponed the board exams of Classes 10 and 12 from March 19 and 31 on Wednesday night. In a statement, the board said that the fresh dates will be announced after March 31.
The Joint Entrance Exam Mains (JEE-Mains) for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology and engineering colleges has also been deferred until further notice. They were scheduled to be held from April 5 to 11.