Appearing for the remaining CBSE Board exams will be optional for Class 12 students this year. Students will be evaluated under a special marking scheme, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) informed the Supreme Court on Thursday.The results under the special scheme will be declared this month.

Students who are dissatisfied with their results can opt for the pen-and-paper exam, which will be conducted by the Board later in the year. However, Class 10 students do not have this option. For them, the exams have been scrapped. CBSE will issue a formal notification to this effect by Friday, said sources.

The country’s national school board was forced to make the Class 12 exams optional after parents expressed concerns over the safety of their children as many states continue to report a record surge in COVID19 positive cases on most days. The fact that many schools, which were supposed to act as examination centres, were also being used for quarantine and isolation purposes posed a significant logistical challenge.

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) has already decided to make the remaining papers for Class 10 and 12 students optional. Students can opt to have their results tabulated based on their performance in their school’s pre-board exams.