India’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Monday postponed the Class 12 board exams scheduled from March 12 to 16 in several West Asian countries amid the conflict between Iran, the US and Israel, and will review the situation on March 14 before deciding on the exams from March 16 onwards.
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In its fifth circular since March 1, CBSE said that after a “critical review of the current situation” in parts of the Middle East (or West Asia), including Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the board has decided to postpone the examinations. The council explained that “the new dates will be announced at a later time.”
“The Board will review the situation on March 14 and will take appropriate decisions regarding the examinations scheduled from March 16 onwards,” CBSE Controller of Examinations Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj 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 for necessary information and action.
In its fourth circular dated March 7, the Central Board of Secondary Education postponed the Class 12 board examinations scheduled from March 9 to 11. In its third circular dated March 5, 2026, the board canceled all Class 10 examinations scheduled from March 2 to March 11 and stated that it would later notify the method of announcing the results to thousands of affected students.
There are more than 150 CBSE affiliated schools in West Asia.
In the same circular, the council had postponed the twelfth grade exam scheduled for Saturday, March 7.
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 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 exam centers including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh.
Postponements and cancellations represent a rare mid-session disruption to external board examinations. In recent years, CBSE has changed timetables mainly during exceptional circumstances, most notably in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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.
