Days after the Centre announced the cancellation of CBSE exams for class 12, Karnataka government too has followed suit and cancelled the second year Pre-University college exams.

The department had been contemplating to conduct the exams even as students and parents had expressed fears of the third wave that is said to reportedly affect youngsters. But the rising cases of the virus and the cancellation of the CBSE board exams have led to the state announcing that the students would be promoted on the basis of a certain grading system.

But the government is also contemplating about conducting exams for those students who are unhappy with the grades, one the intensity of the pandemic reduces.

Minister for Education S Suresh Kumar announced the decision which he said has been taken after holding discussion with all stakeholders. While the opinions were divided with a section pressing for the conducting of the exams while another against it, this decision has been taken keeping the current situation in mind, he elaborated.

Conducting exams for all three streams would take a minimum of 12 days which is not feasible in the current scenario in the state.

The state still intends to conduct exams for standard tenth in July. But the pattern of the exams would be different and designed to help students decide the stream of education they would like to pursue, said Suresh.

The exams would be held in the third week of July, as reported. A single question paper that consolidates science, maths and history is being prepared and it will have multiple choice questions in simple language and is intended to facilitate ease of choice of stream for higher education, he added.