The Board postponed Class 12 exams for three additional days (March 9, 10, 11) and scheduled another review for Tuesday, March 10. Parents of Class 12 students in the UAE wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging a “pro-student, pragmatic decision.”
With no improvement in regional conditions, CBSE issued Circular-5 postponing all Class 12 exams from March 12 to 16. CBSE cited “mental agony of students and the prevailing uncertainties” as reasons. The Board set March 14 as the next review date.
March 15, 2026 — Circular-6
Total cancellation: All Class 12 exams (Mar 16–Apr 10) cancelled
The definitive end to any possibility of conducting board exams in the region this cycle. All previously postponed Class 12 papers also stand formally cancelled. Result declaration mode to be notified separately.
Why Were the Exams Cancelled? The Geopolitical Context
The cancellations are a direct consequence of the escalating military conflict in West Asia. Regional tensions sharply intensified in late February and early March 2026 following US and Israeli strikes on multiple sites in Iran, including an attack that resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering significant retaliatory responses from Iranian forces. The conflict created unstable and unsafe conditions across the Gulf, prompting governments, including the UAE Ministry of Education, to direct schools to shift to distance learning.
CBSE has been coordinating closely with Indian diplomatic missions in all seven countries: the Ambassadors of India to the UAE (Abu Dhabi), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh), Oman (Muscat), Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iran (Tehran), as well as the Consul General of India in Dubai and CBSE’s own Regional Office and Centre of Excellence (RO & CoE) in Dubai.
How Will Results Be Declared? What Students Should Expect
This is the most pressing question for tens of thousands of Class 10 and Class 12 students in the region. CBSE has not yet released a specific evaluation framework but has assured schools that a fair and transparent method will be applied, consistent with past emergency precedents.
For Class 10 students
Class 10 exams were cancelled with effect from March 5 (Circular-3). Several papers were conducted before that date. Based on how CBSE handled similar situations during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the evaluation is expected to draw on: internal school assessments and mid-term marks, performance in papers already conducted before the cancellation, and school-maintained academic performance records. CBSE has confirmed the methodology will be announced separately.
For Class 12 students
Today’s Circular-6 formally cancels all Class 12 papers. Class 12 carries greater weight than Class 10, results are critical for undergraduate admissions to Indian universities (JEE, NEET, CUET), foreign university applications, and scholarships. The stakes are considerably higher.
CBSE is expected to release result calculation guidelines shortly.
Important: What Students Should Do Right Now
1. Check only official sources, www.cbse.gov.in and official school communications. Fake circulars have been circulating on social media throughout this crisis.
2. Maintain your academic records — ensure your school has accurate internal assessment marks, mid-term scores, and attendance records. These may form the basis of your final grade.
3. Do not panic about JEE/NEET/CUET — CBSE is expected to issue a coordination advisory for competitive exam bodies. Students who already appeared for JEE Mains 2026 are not affected by this cancellation.
4. Contact CBSE RO Dubai for urgent queries: cbseroecdubaicoe@gmail.com
Historical Context: How Unprecedented Is This?
The cancellation of CBSE board exams across an entire international region due to a geopolitical conflict is without precedent in CBSE’s history. The closest parallel is the COVID-19 period of 2020–21, when CBSE cancelled board exams domestically and used an alternative marking scheme. However, that crisis was a health emergency affecting India as a whole. The current situation is geographically contained to the Middle East but is being driven by an active armed conflict, a fundamentally different context.
It is also notable that this crisis coincided with CBSE’s announcement to launch a new Global Curriculum in April 2026 for UAE and GCC schools, an initiative designed to blend Indian educational values with global learning standards under NEP 2020. That rollout is now expected to be delayed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Class 12 exams be conducted at a later date in 2026?
Circular-6 uses the word “cancelled,” not “postponed,” for all Class 12 exams from March 16 to April 10. This strongly indicates that the exams will not be rescheduled within this academic cycle. CBSE will instead announce an alternative result declaration method.
Are CBSE exams in India or other countries affected?
No. All circulars explicitly limit the impact to the seven named countries: Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. CBSE board exams in India and all other international centres (including Nepal, Singapore, etc.) proceeded as per the original schedule.
What about ICSE/ISC students in the Middle East?
This news specifically covers CBSE-affiliated schools. The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which oversees ICSE (Class 10) and ISC (Class 12) exams, issued separate notifications. Schools affiliated with CISCE in the UAE and GCC were also impacted by the regional situation and sought rescheduling.
How many students sit for CBSE board exams in the Middle East each year?
An exact official figure has not been publicly released by CBSE for this academic year. However, given that the UAE alone has 105 CBSE schools, many with 2,000–4,000 students and considering typical Class 10 and 12 cohort sizes (approximately 10–15% of total enrolment per grade), the estimated number of affected board-exam students across all 7 countries is in the range of 40,000 to 60,000.
