Andhra Pradesh cancels AP SSC, Intermediate board exams 2021 after Supreme Court rebuke

New Delhi: The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday (June 24) cancelled the AP Board Exams 2021 for Intermediate and SSC Students saying it is not feasible to hold the exam as per Supreme Court stipulations. The state has decided to reverse its decision to conduct AP Intermediate and AP SSC exams 2021 after the Supreme Court hearing today. 

The apex court had asked the Andgra government during a hearing today on the matter to reconsider its decision, pointing out that it won't allow the exams to be conducted if it was not completely satisfied. 

Education Minister A Suresh told reporters that they decided to cancel the exams as it was difficult to adhere to July 31 deadline set by the Supreme Court for completing the process. He said a high-powered committee would be constituted to assess the marks to be awarded to intermediate students.

Earlier, the state government seemed keen to hold the exams despite the prevailing COVID situation and a vociferous demand from all opposition parties and parents. The apex court's observations forced the Jagan Mohan Reddy's government to cancel the exams, much to the relief of lakhs of students.

On June 22,  the Supreme Court came down heavily on the Andhra Pradesh government on being informed of its decision to hold Class 12 board examination. "If there is any fatality, we will hold the state responsible," a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari told councel for Andhra Pradesh. The top court was hearing a plea seeking directions to state governments to not hold board examinations in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.