Mumbai: As COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra are witnessing a spike, the Maharashtra government on Saturday decided that all state board students from Class 1 to Class 8 around all districts will be promoted to the next class without any examination.

Varsha Gaikwad, Maharashtra School Education Minister, said, "In view of coronavirus situation, all state board students around the state from Class 1 to Class 8 will be promoted to the next class without any exam. A decision regarding students of class 9 and 11 will be made soon."

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had last month had asked all schools in some hotspots to curb the surge of COVID cases. Recently, it is seen that children fall among the most vulnerable categories as they are constantly exposed to the contagion in schools.

Schools around India were closed in March last year, ahead of a nationwide lockdown to curtail the spread of the novel virus. The teaching and learning activities were shifted online during the lockdown. While a few states permitted a partial reopening of the schools in October, several are again moving to online classes in the new academic session amid a spike in the number of fresh cases.

Meanwhile, as for classes 10th and 12th, their examinations will be conducted as per the schedule and in an offline mode.