Mumbai,  On expected lines, the Maharashtra government on Thursday too decided to cancel the HSC (Class 12) board exams for 2021 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic second wave, Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad announced.

The move came a day after a cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in which all ministers of the ruling Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress unanimously spoke in favour of cancelling the exams.

Gaikwad said in a statement that the decision has been taken to safeguard students' physical wellbeing and mental health in view of the pandemic.

The latest development came nearly two months after the Maha Vikas Aghadi government had cancelled the SSC (Class 10) board examinations on April 20, conducted by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education, on similar grounds.