West Asia conflict: CBSE postpones class 12 board exams till March 16

New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Monday postponed the class 12 board exams till March 16 in the Middle East amid the Iran-Israel conflict, officials said.

The fresh dates were not immediately announced.

"After a critical review of the current situation in parts of the Middle East -- Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, mental agony of the students and the prevailing uncertainties, the board has decided to postpone (class) 12 exams scheduled from March 12 to 16," said CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj.

The new dates will be announced later, and for further exams, the situation will be reviewed on March 14, he said.

Previously, the CBSE had postponed the exams for March 2, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11 in the region.

It had cancelled class 10 exams till March 11 and said the mode of declaration of results will be announced separately.

The US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing then Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

In the last few days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both sides.

India has called for resolving the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.