Guwahati/Imphal/Agartala, Jun 18 (IANS): In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, Assam and Manipur on Friday cancelled this years Secondary (Class X) and Higher Secondary (Class XII) board examinations.

Meanwhile, Tripura Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that consultations with all the stakeholders are on to decide on holding the Secondary and Higher Secondary examinations in the state.

After holding a series of meetings with various bodies and concerned stakeholders, Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said on Friday that the health department has informed that the situation is not conducive to hold the board exams.

He said that after discussing with all the stakeholders, the education department has decided not to conduct the exams this year.

The minister said that two committees will be set up to decide the marking and evaluation patterns and the final results would be declared by July 31.

Earlier, the Assam Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had also recommended not holding the exams.

Earlier this month, Pegu had told the media that the High School Leaving Certification (HSLC or Class X) and the Higher Secondary (Class XII) exams are likely to be held between August 1 and August 15 with reduced number of subjects if the pandemic situation improved.

The HSLC exams are conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Assam (SEBA), while the Higher Secondary exams are held by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC).

Around seven lakh students were likely to appear if these exams were conducted.

In Imphal, Education Minister S. Rajen Singh on Friday announced the cancellation of the Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BOSEM, Class X) and the Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur (COHSEM, Class XII) exams for 2021.

He said that due to the pandemic and its impacts on the society, many sectors, including education, are being affected.

Singh said that a 14-member committee has been constituted to develop an alternative assessment and evaluation mechanism for the assessment of Class X and Class XII students.

On June 1, the Centre had cancelled the Class XII boards exams of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for 2021.

After the government's decision, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) had also scrapped the ISC Class XII exams for this year.