Amaravati, Jun 24 (IANS): Unable to meet the deadlines set up by the Supreme Court for conducting and evaluating the intermediate (Class 12) board examinations, the Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday cancelled it as well as the Class 10 board examinations.

"It is impossible to complete the process of examinations by July 31, as directed by the Supreme Court. We have informed this matter to the Chief Minister," said Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh.

He said that the apex Court gave leeway for the state to come up with a scheme of assessment within 10 days and complete examination process by July 31, which is not possible for the state.

"Because of the tight schedule, it is not possible to conduct the exams. The government has cancelled Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) theory 2021 exams," he said, adding that it generally takes 45 days to complete this process and announce the results.

Suresh said the scheme of evaluating marks for the cancelled intermediate examinations will be declared soon.

A high-powered committee will decide the mechanism for awarding marks to students soon.

Considering the prevailing circumstances, the state government has also cancelled Class 10 standard examinations.

"Cancelling examinations is the second best option while the first option was always conducting the examinations," he added.

According to the Minister, the Court also ordered the University Grants Commission (UGC) to not commence the admission process until the CBSE, the ICSE and all the states declare their results for these exams by July 31.

He said this decision has been taken to ensure that AP students will not be at a loss while taking admissions for undergraduate courses.

However, Suresh said the government was prepared to conduct the exams always duly following the Covid protocols, which is not the case anymore considering the Court's deadlines.