National Examinations Board Decides To Conduct Grade XII Exams on Schedule

Amid uncertainties over a smooth conduct of Grade XII exams, the National Examinations Board has decided to conduct the exams on schedule—from April 24.

A meeting of the board held on Tuesday (April 22) made a decision to this effect against the backdrop of a teachers’ protracted protest and a sudden resignation of Minister for Education Bidhya Bhattarai. 

The protesting teachers have said they will not be a part of academic activities like the conduct of exams, marking of SEE answer sheets and the enrollment campaign for the new academic year unless and until the enactment of the long-pending School Education Bill through incorporation of their demands mentioned in deals reached with the government in the past, including the six-point September 22, 2023 pact. 

Reports indicate that the government is preparing to conduct the exams even by mobilizing other civil servants as the postponement will affect lakhs of students. 

A source at the Higher Secondary Education Board said preparations for the examinations have been going on for sometime. As per the board's directives, we are upping preparations for the exams by mobilizing human resources required for a smooth conduct of exams, the source said: It all depends on the level of cooperation we get from all sides concerned. 

With a series of examinations—regular, partial and compartmental—lined up till Jestha 16 (May 30) as part of the annual academic calendar, postponement of the exams will affect a large number of examinees, the source said, requesting the teachers to bear this fact in mind.