The Central Board of Secondary Education on Tuesday told the Supreme that it will reach a decision by Wednesday on whether to cancel or go ahead with the remaining board exams, Bar and Bench reported.

“By tomorrow [Wednesday] evening, a formal decision will be finalised,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and CBSE, told the top court. “We understand the anxiety of the students. We can inform the court day after tomorrow [Thursday].”

A three-judge bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna heard the petitions of students’ parents, seeking cancellation of the remaining Class 12 board exams scheduled for July amid coronavirus risks. After the Centre’s submission, the court said it will hear the case on June 25.

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The top court also allowed the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education to follow CBSE’s decision on the exams. The bench added that ICSE would be free to make changes to the decision according to its own requirements.

The petitioners in the case had argued that there was no guarantee that the coronavirus situation in India will improve by July, adding that constantly postponing exams and delaying results will “inflict irreparable loss” on students” who have secured admissions in foreign universities. The petitioners had also cited practical difficulties on movement of students in containment zones and unavailability of private vehicles.

In April, CBSE had announced that it will only conduct pending exams for 29 subjects in order to promote students and enable them to get admissions to higher educational institutions. All schools and colleges have been shut since March 16, eight days before the Centre announced a countrywide lockdown.