SSC examinations in Andhra Pradesh postponed due to coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic has now affected the State Secondary Certificate (SSC) examinations schedule in Andhra Pradesh. As per the announcement made by the State’s Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh on Tuesday, the SSC examinations, which were scheduled to begin on March 31, 2020, have now been deferred for at least two weeks in wake of the pandemic. The Minister stated that the examinations will now be held only after April 15, 2020, and a fresh schedule will be released after assessing the situations prevalent then.

The announcement comes in at a time when Andhra Pradesh has been placed under lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus. In an official press release from the Directorate of Government Examinations, it has been announced that due to the non-availability of public transport and shut down of schools during the lockdown, it would be difficult for students to procure their hall tickets. Further, the Chief Superintendents, Departmental Officers, Invigilators, and other staff would find it difficult to reach the examination centres as well. Since the current precaution to curb the virus is to practise social distancing, the officials have postponed the examination for a period of two weeks.

In other education-related news for the state, the online application deadlines for Engineering Common Entrance Test (ECET), Engineering, Agricultural and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET), Integrated Common Entrance Test (ICET) and have all been extended.

The last date for applications is as follows:

1. EAMCET
Previous deadline: March 29, 2020
Current Deadline: April 5, 2020

2. ICET and ECET
Previous deadline: April 2, 2020.
Current Deadline: April 9, 2020

The current reported number of coronavirus cases in India at the time of publishing this article is 523. Ten people have lost their lives to the novel coronavirus. In Andhra Pradesh, the number has risen to seven.