In Tamil Nadu, the State Government has decided to promote the students of Classes 9, 10, and 11 to the next class without any examinations in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami made a suo motu announcement in this regard at the State Assembly yesterday. He said, all the students of classes 9, 10 and 11 are declared passed, considering the extraordinary situation faced by the students and teachers this year and the requests of the parents and that of the views of the academicians.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">The state will conduct examinations for Class 12 for which the timetable has been released by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Government Examinations. The exams will be conducted between 3rd and 21st of May.  Tamil Nadu schools reopened for Classes 10 and 12 on January 19. <br />''<br />''</span>AIR correspondent reports that students of classes 9,10 and 11 standards were relieved on hearing the decision taken by the State Government. It was a difficult time to learn the subjects though they were taught through Kalvi channel, the education channel launched by the Government or through online since the schools were closed due to the pandemic.<br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Students hailing from economically backward families and who could not afford to learn through cell phones had to adapt themselves to a new way to complete their studies. Teachers also had to rush through the syllabus and assessing the students was a hard job. Still, the Federation of Private School Associations asked the government to stop politicising education of school students for gaining political mileage. </span><br />