While the governments of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Punjab governments had cancelled the SSC examinations, the Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday made it clear that it will conduct the examinations despite the spurt in the coronavirus cases.

Education minister Audimulapu Suresh stated that the AP government will conduct the SSC examinations as scheduled. The state government, he said, will conduct the exams as per the schedule from July 10. However, the number of papers will be restricted to six instead of 11, the minister noted.

The exams will be held with strict adherence to the physical distancing norm. Students would be given masks and sanitisers, while teachers in the exam centres would be provided with gloves.

The SSC exams were first postponed as the dates clashed with the local body elections. The SSC exams were later put off due to the spread of the coronavirus which had resulted in complete lockdown.

The Telangana government had recently cancelled the SSC exams and decided to promote all the SSC students to the next class without conducting any examinations amid growing concerns over the rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the state. The Telangana government decision follows the High Court directive to not hold the exams in Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Ranga Reddy in view of the risks involved in conducting exams due to the high corona cases.