PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Saturday that the Goa Board’s Class X exams this year would be cancelled, and that students would be promoted based on an assessment of their internal marks. The move is set to impact 24,300 students. Meanwhile, the state hasn’t yet decided about the Class XII exams, and Sawant said a decision could be expected on Wednesday. Sawant’s announcement came after a high-level meeting chaired by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh. For science seats, a one-day examGoa, like other states, has now to write to the Union education ministry by May 25 about its plan for Class XII board exams, for which 19,200 students have registered. “We had asked the Goa Board to form a committee of officials from the board, education department, education experts and teachers and managements of private education institutions,” said Sawant. “Based on the consultations and the discussion at today’s meet, in the interest of everyone concerned, as we are going through the pandemic, we have decided that the Class X exam for 2021 stands cancelled.” Officials said that a marking scheme will be drawn this week by the Goa Board for promotion of Class X students to a higher class based on their internal marks. “Based on the assessment of internal marks, if a student is found failing in a couple of subjects, he or she will be Allowed to Keep Terms (ATKT),” Sawant said. To decide on the students who qualify for admissions to Class XI science stream seats and diploma programme seats, the Goa government and education department have decided to hold a one-day exam of three hours’ duration, consisting of objective-type questions, said the CM. “Students will be informed of the day of the exam well in advance, at least 15 days earlier. Tentatively, the test will be held July-end,” said Sawant. Around 350 ITI and private candidates appear for the Goa Board Class X exams every year. “For these students, once the Covid-19 situation is seen improving, the Goa Board will decide and will conduct either a one-day or three-day exam,” the CM said. On the Class XII exams, he said, “I know that Class XII students and their parents are also under strain, but JEE, NEET and other such national entrance exams are held for Class XII students. Following the meeting with Central government officials, a decision on such national exams will be taken soon. Once the decision is made, we will immediately inform Class XII students about it.” Sawant said the decision to cancel the Class X exam will relieve students, parents and teachers of the stress they have endured over the past few weeks. “I am aware that parents as well as students are under stress over the past many days,” he said. “Students, parents and teachers have been calling up Goa Board, the education department and also me as education minister to constantly inquire about how and when the exams will be held. I know all of you have gone through this tension.” On April 21, the CM had announced that the Class X and XII board exams have been deferred. The Class XII exams were to be held from April 24 and the Class X from May 13.