The CBSE announcement came following a directive from the Human Resource Development ministry saying exams are important but safety and security of students and teachers is equally important.
"Considering request of Delhi government and to avoid inconvenience to students, staff and parents, the board has decided to postpone the exam for Class 12 in northeast part of Delhi," CBSE Secretary Anurag Tripathi said.
The exam postponement announcement by the CBSE came for the third time this week due to communal violence in northeast Delhi over the amended citizenship law which has claimed 34 lives so far and left over 200 people injured. "The next date for the affected students will be notified shortly," CBSE Secretary Anurag Tripathi said.
According to officials, the board will inform students about the schedule 10 days in advance.
While the Delhi government announced that schools will not be allowed to hike fees during the lockdown period and only tuition fee will have to be paid, Maharashtra has said parents can lodge complaints with district education officers if schools demanded fees. The Gujarat government had on Monday announced that private schools will not hike fees for an year. The West Bengal government has appealed to schools to refrain from hiking fees.
The CBSE had announced that it had rationalised the syllabus for Classes 9 to 12 for the 2020-21 session by up to 30 per cent to make up for the academic loss caused due to COVID-19. However, it was the decision to drop topics related to Social Sciences which drew sharp reaction from opposition parties like the Congress, Left, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena.
All international passengers will henceforth be screened at airports, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said at a press conference. Earlier, travellers from only 12 countries were screened at airports for the disease that has claimed over 3,000 lives and infected more than 90,000 worldwide.