Mangaluru: The West Asia crisis has disrupted CBSE board examinations across Gulf, leaving thousands of Indian students and their families worried over how results will now be declared.Advocate PA Hameed Padubidri, based in Saudi Arabia, said the sudden disruption had caused deep concern among NRI families. He said board exams are decisive for many students in the Gulf because they influence college admissions, and long-term career opportunities. The lack of clarity over the next step had increased stress among students who had spent months preparing, he added.Parents and students have urged Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) not to rely on pre-board marks for evaluation. Sarvotham Shetty, board of governor of Abu Dhabi Indian School, said the main concern was the absence of any clear direction from authorities. At the school, which has around 12,000 Indian students, families are seeking details on how marks will be awarded and what process will be followed after the cancellation.The uncertainty was also reflected online after CBSE posted the announcement on X on Sunday. One user, Priya Rajagopal, a Class 10 student, asked for clarity on the number of cancelled subjects. Another user, Riju Shrivastava, said students’ efforts risked going unrecognised, comparing the situation to the 2021 batch affected by Covid-19. Aashish Tulsaan said the results were crucial for university admissions and called for a fair and transparent evaluation process.The CBSE said in a circular issued on Sunday that all Class 12 board exams—scheduled between March 16 and April 10, 2026—for students in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been cancelled. The board also cancelled the remaining Class 10 exams in these countries. However, CBSE has not yet announced how grade 10 and 12 results will be prepared.In Saudi Arabia alone, where around 37 CBSE-affiliated schools operate, commerce students have already written accountancy and physical education, with English, business studies and economics papers pending. Humanities students had completed English and some optional subjects, while science students had appeared for physics and certain optional papers.
