Priyanka urges govt to cancel CBSE exams

New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI) Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday reiterated her call for cancelling the CBSE exams, saying the Centre must not ignore the voice of the students and call off the tests due to the COVID-19 situation in the country.

In a Facebook post, Priyanka Gandhi said that in the past few days., she heard from many students across the country raising some important issues related to the examinations amid the second wave of COVID-19.

They say that in the last days leading up to the examinations, there is already pressure of preparation and now there was additional pressure of protection against the virus on them, according to Priyanka Gandhi.

“Along with that, there is also the danger of safety of teachers engaged in exam duty and families of students,” the Congress general secretary said.

In such a situation, despite the demands raised by the students, the silence of the education minister and the government on this subject is “astonishing”, she said.

Priyanka Gandhi recalled that she had also written a letter to Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank to cancel the board examinations.

Many countries have come out with several new methods of assessment in this emergency, she noted.

“I request the government of India again not to ignore the voice of India’s future,” Priyanka Gandhi said, demanding cancellation of the CBSE exams.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with the Union education minister and key officials on Wednesday to discuss the issue of CBSE exams, government sources said.

The classes 10 and 12 CBSE exams are set to begin from May 4 amid demand by several leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, that they be cancelled amid an alarming rise in the coronavirus cases across the country.

A call on the examination may be taken in the meeting to be chaired by the prime minister, the sources said.