In her letter addressed to the Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today, the general secretary of All India Congress Committee, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has requested the government to reconsider conducting CBSE board examination that are scheduled to be held next month in May.

“… despite the massive and uncontrolled rise in COVID-19 cases across the country and over 1 lakh new cases coming to light on a daily basis, the CBSE board has issued a circular stating that it is going ahead with the Board exams scheduled,” reads her letter dated April 11.

She goes on to say that it will be practically impossible to ensure the safety of students at large and crowded exam centres. “The Government and the CBSE board will be held responsible in the event that any of the exam centres prove to be hotspots at which large number of children become infected with the disease,” Vadra writes in her letter.

She has requested the government to “engage in a dialogue with schools, students and their parents so that a safer way for them to fulfil their educational obligations can be found”.

Meanwhile, India reported over 152,879 new COVID19 cases yesterday, the highest single day spike since the pandemic began. Deaths reported yesterday were 839. Ten states account for 86.41 ter cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (309).

The five states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala cumulatively account for 70.82 per cent of India’s total active cases. 

Maharashtra alone accounts for 48.57 per cent of the total active caseload of the country.