New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday cancelled Class 10 board exams in several West Asian countries due to the war between Iran and the US and Israel. For Class 12, the board has postponed the March 7 exam and said it will “review the situation” the same day before taking a call on papers scheduled from March 9 onwards. The board will later notify the mode of declaration of results for thousands of affected students studying in over 150 CBSE-affiliated schools in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“The mode of declaration of results for Class 10 students in the Middle East will be notified in due course,” said CBSE exam controller Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj in a circular March 5, which lists the Indian ambassadors to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iran, as well as the Consul General of India in Dubai, among those copied for information and necessary action.
“All Class 12 students are advised to remain in close contact with their schools and follow official announcements carefully,” Bhardwaj said.
CBSE conducts the Class 10 and 12 board exams annually in India and in select foreign centres where its affiliated schools operate. The Gulf region constitutes the largest overseas cluster of CBSE schools, with Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh among key examination hubs.
The postponement and cancellations marked a rare mid-session disruption to overseas board examinations. In recent years, the CBSE altered schedules mainly during extraordinary circumstances — most notably in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when several Class 10 and 12 examinations in India and abroad were postponed or cancelled. In isolated cases, the Board has also deferred exams in specific centres due to extreme weather, local emergencies or security-related concerns, while maintaining the broader national timetable.
Class 10 and 12 board examinations of CBSE began on February 18. Over 4.37 million students including 2.51 million class 10 students and 1.86 million class 12 students are appearing for CBSE board examinations.
CBSE officials did not respond to HT queries.
