Guwahati – The Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB) has announced the cancellation of the remaining subjects of the Higher Secondary First Year Examinations for the academic year 2025. This decision comes in light of the impending Panchayat elections across the state, which are scheduled to extend until May 20, 2025.
The announcement was made by Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, who stated that the board took this step due to the extensive involvement of teachers in election-related duties. These duties encompass preparatory work, training for polling and counting staff, the actual conduct of the elections, and the subsequent counting of votes.
Minister Pegu further clarified through a post on social media platform X that students who had already appeared for the examinations held in March 2025 will be permitted to appear for the HS Final Examination in the year 2026, in accordance with the board’s decision.
In an official statement released by the board, it was highlighted that the declaration of the Panchayat election dates necessitates the engagement of the state’s teaching community in various crucial electoral processes. Given the election schedule announced by the State Election Commission, which indicates that the entire process will likely continue until May 20, 2025, conducting the remaining examinations before the completion of the polls would beLogistically challenging. Furthermore, holding the examinations after the election process would result in an undue delay.
The Assam State Election Commission had earlier this week, on Wednesday, declared the schedule for the Panchayat elections. These elections will be conducted in two phases across 27 districts of Assam. State Election Commissioner Alok Kumar informed news agency ANI that the first phase of polling is scheduled for May 2 across 14 districts, while the second phase will take place on May 7 in the remaining 13 districts. The counting of votes for both phases is slated for May 11.
The upcoming Panchayat elections will witness the participation of over 1.80 crore voters across 25007 polling stations. The process for filing nominations will be open from April 3 to April 11 for both phases, with scrutiny of nominations on April 12 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature on April 17. The elections will be held at the Gaon Panchayat, Aanchik Panchayat, and Zilla Parishad levels.
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