Jharkhand Academic Council on Saturday announced the postponement of class X and class XII board exams till June in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases.

JAC exams were scheduled to take place from May 4 where over seven lakh students were expected to appear at around 2200 centres.

The state board joined the league of national boards which adopted similar measures to prevent the spread of the virus amid the raging second wave of the pandemic.

JAC in a statement said that they will take a call on fresh dates after reviewing the situation on June 1.

JAC secretary, Mahip Singh said, “Students will be provided at least two weeks advance time to prepare before rescheduling fresh dates.”

The examination board had halted the practical examinations, which were on since April 6 on an immediate basis till further notice.

Congress MLA from Mahagama Dipika Pandey had written a letter to chief minister Hemant Soren to defer the examinations. Parents’ bodies had also urged Hemant to cancel or postpone the exams for their children’s safety.

“Cancelling the exams for now was the best option before us to prevent children from getting infected,” Hemant said during an all party online meeting held earlier on Saturday.