NIOS Class 12 Public Exams cancelled due to COVID-19; decision to benefit 1.75L students

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has cancelled Class 12 public exams in light of the COVID-19 situation in the country. The institute will devise “well defined objective criteria” for preparing results, an official statement said. Last month, NIOS postponed the Class 12 public exams and cancelled exams for Class 10 exams due to the pandemic.

The decision to cancel NIOS Class 12 exams will benefit around 1.75 lakh students, said Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.

Learners who remain dissatisfied with the alternative assessment can improve their grades through on-demand examination, which will be held after the situation becomes conductive, the institute said.

NIOS follows CBSE route

The institute had announced the cancellation of the Class 10 public exam in May and said it will review the Coronavirus situation again on June 20 and notify regarding the Class 12 examination, 15 prior to the commencement of the exam.

However, the institute has followed the decision taken by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to cancel their Class 12 board exams. After CBSE’s announcement, nearly a dozen states and the central board CISCE cancelled their Class 12 board exams. Other states are likely to make announcements regarding the exams soon.

For Class 10 students, “suitable criteria” for assessment and preparation of results will be devised, NIOS had said, adding that learners who are not satisfied with this method will be given a chance to appear in public examinations.