The Class 10 board exams in Andhra Pradesh stand postponed, the state government said on Thursday, adding that the new dates will be announced at a later time. The state had earlier scheduled the exams to begin from June 7 but had faced stiff opposition from students, parents, teachers and officials alike, owing to the rising coronavirus cases in the state.

The Class 10 board exams were to be held in Andhra Pradesh from June 7 to 16, 2021. The state government on Thursday informed that new dates for the exams will be reviewed again in July. The decision to postpone the exams comes in the wake of demands from students, parents and even officials of the state Education Department amid the COVID-19 second wave and partial lockdown in the state.

A petition was filed with the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking that the Class 10 exams be postponed. Several students also signed a change.org petition demanding that the Andhra Pradesh Board of Intermediate Education (BIEAP) cancel or postpone the exams. However, despite the rising COVDI-19 cases in the state, the BIEAP pressed on with efforts to carry out the exams by releasing the exam schedule.

On April 29, the BIEAP released the hall tickets on its official website, despite several other states postponing their board examinations.

Students also took to social media trending hashtags with the hope of forcing the YSRCP-led state government to postpone the exams. By May 16, the state had already made arrangements to conduct the board exams and had asked teachers to resume duties by June 1.

The students in the meantime were given a holiday from May 1 to 31 but asked to prepare for the exams. The state had earlier postponed the intermediate exams that were to be held from May 6 to 23.