The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Saturday postponed the Class 12 board exams scheduled from March 9 to 11 in several West Asian countries amid the conflict between Iran, the US and Israel, and will review the situation on March 10 before deciding on the exams from March 12 onwards.
In its fourth circular this week, CBSE said that after a “critical review of the current situation” in parts of the Middle East, including Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the board has decided to postpone the examinations scheduled on March 9, 10 and 11.
“The Board will review the situation on March 10 and will take appropriate decisions regarding the examinations scheduled for March 12 onwards,” Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj, Controller of CBSE Examination, said in the latest circular, which lists Indian Ambassadors to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iran, as well as the Consul General of India in Dubai, among those copied seeking information and taking necessary action.
In its third circular dated March 5, 2026, the board canceled all Class 10 exams scheduled from March 2 to March 11 and stated that it would later notify the method of declaring results to thousands of affected students studying in over 150 CBSE-affiliated schools in West Asia. In the same circular, the council had postponed the twelfth grade exam scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2026
In its first and second circulars dated March 1 and 3, CBSE postponed the board exams scheduled for March 2, March 5 and March 6.
“All students are advised to stay in close contact with their schools and follow official announcements carefully,” Bhardwaj said in the latest circular.
The decision to postpone and cancel board exams affects thousands of Indian students studying in CBSE affiliated schools across the Gulf region. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, in particular, host a large number of Indian expatriate families, and CBSE schools there account for a large proportion of foreign candidates who sit the board exams every year.
CBSE conducts board examinations for Classes 10 and 12 annually in India and in selected foreign centers where its affiliated schools operate. The Gulf region forms the largest overseas concentration of CBSE schools, with Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh among the major examination centres.
Postponements and cancellations represent a rare mid-session disruption to external board examinations. In recent years, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has changed schedules mainly during exceptional circumstances – most notably in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many Class 10 and 12 examinations in India and abroad were postponed or cancelled. In isolated cases, the Board has also postponed exams at specific centers due to extreme weather, local emergencies or security concerns, while maintaining the broader national timetable.
CBSE board exams for Classes 10 and 12 began on February 18. More than 4.37 million students, including 2.51 million students in Class 10 as of March 11 and 1.86 million students in Class 12, are appearing for the CBSE board exams until April 10.
