The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday announced the decision to cancel the Class 12 board exams 2021 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

“In view of the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the health and safety of children is our top priority. With the inspiration of respected Prime Minister @UPGovt has decided that in the current academic session, the examination of 10th and 12th of the Board of Secondary Education will not be conducted,” tweeted CM Adityanath.

The UP board Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) is expected to devise a pattern to prepare the results of the Class 12 students. Details of the same will be released in the coming days.

The UP government’s decision comes two days after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) decided to cancel their Class 12 board exams for this year.

The state board had already cancelled the Class 10 board exam last month, following which nearly 30 lakh candidates, who had registered for it, were promoted to Class 11.

Since the CBSE decision, many state boards across India have cancelled the Class 12 board exams over health concerns. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and several other states have scrapped the senior secondary board exams this year.

Accordingly, state boards have been tasked to come up with a formula to prepare results of students based on internal assessments.