Kamal Ghorui
CBSE Class XII exams cancelled: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has cancelled the Class XII board examinations scheduled in several Middle East countries following a review of the feasibility of conducting the tests in the region.The announcement has been made for students studying in schools affiliated with the CBSE board in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, where the examinations were scheduled between March 16 and April 10, 2026.The announcement made by the boardThe announcement was made through a circular, i.e., Circular-6, by the CBSE board on March 15, 2026, to the schools affiliated with the board in the Middle East countries where the examinations were scheduled to take place between March 16 and April 10, 2026.The board, after reviewing the information provided by the schools and the authorities, has announced that all the examinations scheduled to take place between March 16 and April 10, 2026, for Class XII students studying in schools affiliated with the board in the Middle East countries will be cancelled, and the board has confirmed that the examinations scheduled to take place earlier will also be cancelled.According to the circular, earlier postponements had been communicated through notices issued on March 1, March 3, March 5, March 7 and March 9.
Result declaration method to be announced laterCBSE said the process for declaring results of the affected Class XII candidates will be notified separately. The board stated that the mode of assessment and result declaration will be communicated in due course.The announcement comes after a series of disruptions to the examination schedule. The board had earlier postponed the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations scheduled on March 2, March 5, and March 6 for the academic year 2026–27 in the seven countries.
Presence of CBSE schools in the Middle East regionThe CBSE board has a strong presence in the Middle East region with a number of affiliated schools. Data shared by the Ministry of External Affairs in 2023 stated that there are around 217 schools in the Middle East region affiliated with the CBSE board.The United Arab Emirates has the highest number of schools affiliated with the CBSE board, with 106 schools operating in the region. The schools are located in cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has 37 schools affiliated with the board. The nation of Kuwait has 26 schools affiliated with the board. The nation of Oman has 21 schools affiliated with the board. The nation of Qatar has 19 schools affiliated with the board. The nation of Bahrain has eight schools affiliated with the board.
