new delhi the centre on wednesday cancelled class 10 board exams and said that the results will be prepared on the basis of an objective criterion to be developed by the cbse in view of the surge of covid19 pandemic across the country the decision was taken after a highlevel meeting chaired by prime minister narendra modiunion education minister ramesh pokhriyal nishank said any candidate who is not satisfied with the marks allocated to him or her on this basis will be given an opportunity to sit in an exam as and when the conditions are conducive to hold the examsprime minister narendra modi held a meeting with the union education minister ramesh pokhriyal education secretary and other important officials earlier today to discuss the issue of cbse board exams said sourcesin a statement issued after the meeting the prime minister reiterated that the well being of the students has to be the top priority for the governmenthe also stated that the centre would keep in mind the best interests of the students and ensure that their health is taken care of at the same time their academic interests are not harmed it addedthe pandemic situation in the country is seeing a resurgence of covid 19 positive cases in many states with a few states having been affected more than othersin this situation schools have been shut down in 11 states unlike state boards cbse has an allindia character and therefore it is essential to hold exams simultaneously throughout the countryover the past few days several political leaders had urged the centre to cancel the cbse board exams amid growing covid19 numbers across the countrydelhi chief minister arvind kejriwal on tuesday had appealed to the centre to cancel the exams saying the examination centres can become super spreaders and alternative methods for assessment need to be exploredmaharashtra school education minister varsha gaikwad had also requested the cbse council for the indian school certificate examinations cisce and other boards to reschedule their exam dates due to the unprecedented rise in covid19 cases in the stateon wednesday punjab chief minister captain retired amarinder singh wrote to the centre seeking postponement of class 10 and 12 board examscongress leaders rahul gandhi and priyanka gandhi had urged union education minister ramesh pokhriyal to intervene and direct cbse to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the board exams in may