Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced that students with special needs availing facility of the scribe can choose not to appear for class 10 and class 12 pending board exams as it will be difficult for them to follow the social distancing norms. 

The board will announce its results as per an alternative assessment scheme. In view of the COVID-19 lockdown, CBSE postponed the board exams which are now scheduled to be held from July 1 to 15.

"In case children with special needs availing the facility of scribe do not wish to appear in the forthcoming examination because of noncompliance of social distancing norms, the students can inform their respective schools and their result will be declared as per the assessment scheme to be decided by the board," a senior board official said.

The board grants several exemptions to children with special needs in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

"In addition to extra time, scribe or reader, computer or laptop (without internet), from this year we had also allowed use of basic calculators for candidates registered under the CWSN category," the official added.

A total number of 6,844 for class 10 and 3,718 for class 12 registered under Children With Special Needs (CWSN) categories including visually impaired, spastics, dyslexics, muscular dystrophy, locomotor impairment, dwarfism, and others.

While the Class 12 exams will be conducted across the country, the Class 10 exams are only pending in North East Delhi. The exams could not be conducted in the national capital district due to the law and order situation in the wake of protests against the amended citizenship law.