KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has recommended postponing the Board examination of Grade 12.

It is likely that the National Examination Board’s (NEB) meeting on Saturday will take a formal decision about the postponement of the exam. There are 374,000 students appearing for Grade 12 exam this year.

NEB Chairman Chandra Mani Poudel has called a meeting of the board for Saturday.

According to sources, writing to COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) and the Ministry of Education, MoHP urged the authorities to reconsider their decision to conduct Grade 12 exam on the scheduled date.

Earlier, NEB had suspended the exam scheduled for April, citing the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.

The NEB had started preparations to conduct the exam from August 15 by keeping only 25 students in a classroom and maintaining physical distance. Preparations were made to conduct PCR test before the examination, and also ensure that all health safety standards are made before attending the exam.

However, citing the alarming rise of the coronavirus infection in the country, MoHP asked Ministry of Education and CCMC to take initiation for the postponement.