Bengaluru,   Ending the speculation regarding the examination, Karnataka Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar, after chairing a high-level meeting here on Tuesday, said that the Class 10 (Secondary School Leaving Certificate - SSLC) board examination won't be cancelled or postponed and would be held as per already fixed schedule from June 21, 2021.

The minister appealed to all the students to keep studying. "The examinations will be conducted in June and July as decided earlier. There is no change in schedule for Karnataka PUC Examinations 2021," he said.

The education department circular also stated that Class 10 board examinations for state board students (SSLC exams) will be held as per schedule from June 21 to July 5.

Kumar's announcement assumes significance in the wake of speculations were rife at the possibility of cancellation of SSLC Examinations 2021 after Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) decided to cancel Class 10 board examinations 2021 last week and on Tuesday morning the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) announced its decision to cancel the ICSE or class 10 board examinations.

Annually about 8.5 lakh students appear for the SSLC (Secondary School Leaving Certificate or Class 10) examination that is organised by the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) - state's education board.

The KSEEB which generally conducts examinations in March/April of every year but due to prolonged lockout in 2020, this year's annual examinations are held in June. The Board also needs to reconduct the same examination in the month of June for the benefit of the students who fail in main examinations. Nearly 2.20 lakh students take the supplementary examination.