Maharashtra board class 10 and 12 exams will be held in April-May, says Education Min Varsha Gaikwad

Maharashtra School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad has said that the written exams of the state board's Class 12 will be held from 23 April to 29 May, and of Class 10 from 29 April to 31 May.

The exams are usually held in February and March, which have to be rescheduled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, the Maharashtra School Education Minister said that the practical exams for Class 12 will be held between 1 and 22 April, and for Class 10 between 9 and 28 April.

"The written exams for Class 12 will be held between April 23 and May 29, and for Class 10 between April 29 and May 31. We are trying to declare the results of Classes 12 and 10 by July-end and August-end, respectively," news agency PTI qoted the minister as saying.

The state has already reduced the syllabus by 25% so that it will not be a burden for students, she said.

To a query, Gaikwad said around 38% of students were attending classes in schools, as of 18 January.

Schools and junior colleges for classes 9 to 12 had reopened in parts of the state earlier this month based on the coronavirus situation in respective areas.

Meanwhile, Thane has added 372 new cases of coronavirus, taking the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 2,50,407.

Four more deaths due to the viral infection were also reported on Wednesday, raising the toll in the district to 6,067.

The COVID-19 mortality rate in the district is 2.42%.

So far, 2,40,600 patients have recovered from the infection, improving the recovery rate to 96.08%.

Currently, there are 3,740 active COVID-19 cases in the district.