Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on Wednesday announced that the board examinations for classes X and XII will be held in June, one after the other.

The class X (Madhyamik) exams will be held first, followed by the class XII (Ucchya Madhyamik) exams, Partha said.

The board examinations in the state are usually held in February and March every year.

“We have accepted the recommendations of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and the West Bengal Council of Higher Education Education on holding the exams on later dates in view of the pandemic situation,” the minister said.

“If the situation changes, the board and council will take decisions accordingly,” he added.

Last month, the state government had pruned the syllabuses for the students of Classes X and XII who will write their board exams next year as on-campus classes could not be held because of the Covid pandemic.

Wednesday’s decision comes a day after Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ ruled out conducting board examinations for classes 10 and 12 till February next year in view of the Covid-19 situation.

He said a decision on when the exams will be conducted will be taken later after due consultations and assessment of the situation.

“Keeping the current situation in mind, it has been decided that the board exams for classes 10 and 12 will not be conducted till February 2021. A decision on the exam schedule will be taken later after assessment of the situation and more consultations,” he had said in an online interaction with teachers.