Amid the anticipations over conducting the Class 12 board exams in Tamil Nadu, the state government is considering conducting the board exams in September. The consideration has come when around 60% of students and parents were said to have demanded the government to conduct the board exams in the state. It has been expected that the state government would announce the final decision in the evening hours of Saturday. 

Chief Minister MK Stalin and authorities of the school education department had held hectic meetings for the past few days with the health experts and various stakeholders in arriving at a final decision of whether or not to conduct the Class 12 board exams in the state. Earlier on Wednesday, the government has said that it will announce the final decision in two days. It further said that the final decision will be taken after obtaining the opinions from the students and parents over conducting the exams.

On Saturday, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi has held a high-level meeting with all the parties to acquire their views on conducting the board exams. The meeting was attended by the representatives of 13 parties and according to reports, most of the parties including DMK and VCK were in favour of conducting the exams while some parties like BJP had urged the government for cancellation.

Following the meeting, Poyyamozhi had asserted that the Chief Minister will be taking a final decision on Saturday. The reports close to the development say that the government is considering conducting the Class 12 board exams in September after administering COVID-19 vaccine doses for all Class 12 students. Some of the measures that we can expect from the government include providing examination centres for the students in their vicinities either in a school or in a college. 

The government will be installing more centres across the state to ensure that the centres won't be crowded by the students during examinations. As most of the parents and political parties are in favour of conducting the exams, the state government will less likely repeal their demands and will announce the directive of conducting the examination in September. 

The latest reports say School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi will be meeting Chief Minister MK Stalin at 5.30 pm on Saturday to discuss the takeaways at the all-party meeting and he will be also be tabling a report to the Chief Minister concerning the board exams. The report was made based on the inputs, recommendations, and opinions from the parents, health experts, educationalists, and representatives of all the parties who virtually participated in Saturday's meeting. 

The report will play a vital role in the government's final decision. On Tuesday, the Union government has cancelled CBSE Class 12 board exams for this year in light of the horrendous second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Health and safety of our students are of utmost importance and there would be no compromise on this aspect. Anxiety among students, parents, and teachers must put to an end."

"Students should not be forced to appear for exams in such a stressful situation and all stakeholders need to show sensitivity for students", he added. After the Union government cancelled the CBSE Class 12 board exams, several states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha had cancelled the Class 12 board exams for the students who fall under the state board. 

On Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu government has convened a meet with the officials to decide on whether or not to conduct Class 12 board exams. After the meeting, Poyyamozhi said that the final decision will be taken in two days after obtaining the views and opinions from the parents, health experts, and educationalists. Earlier, the state government has asserted that it will conduct the board exams for Class 12 at any cost and it was speculated that the exams will be conducted between July and August after the pandemic has come under control.