Panaji, Jun 2 (IANS): A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi allowed nationwide cancellation of Class 12 exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) due to the Covid surge, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said his government is still considering three options, including holding the exams for over 21,000 students in Goa.

Speaking to reporters at the state Secretariat, Sawant also said that while the central government had cancelled Class 12 exams, a formal notification is yet to be issued.

The three options, Sawant said, involved completely cancelling examinations or allowing those who want to opt for appearing for exams the opportunity to, while declaring results based on internal marks for those who do not want to answer the exams.

"The third option is to hold exams for everyone," Sawant said, after a meeting with top Education officials, including Chairman of the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, the Director of Education, Director of Higher Education and technical education departments.

Sawant said that a final decision on the issue would be taken on Wednesday evening itself.

"The final decision will be taken today itself. We have not received anything in writing from the CBSE, etc. We have to also see how many will be willing to attend the exams," Sawant said.

The Chief Minister also said that many students depend on Class 12 exam marks for availing scholarships or for their job pursuit, suggesting that these were the reasons why he was hesitant to cancel the exams outright.

When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision on Tuesday to scrap Class 12 exams nationwide, Sawant said the "notification is yet to come".

"Our Chief Secretary is continuously following up the matter," Sawant said.