The State will review the academic situation on March 31.

The Kerala government has postponed all school, higher secondary and university examinations until further notice, given the COVID-19 threat.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the capital on Friday morning.

An estimated 4.2 lakh students are in the middle of their preparations for the final phase of the Class X board examination that commenced on March 10. The tests were scheduled to conclude on March 26.

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The government has also cancelled the higher secondary Plus one and Plus two examinations, which had commenced alongside the SSLC examination on March 10 and roughly followed the same calendar.

As many as 8,91,577 students are appearing for the higher secondary examinations in Kerala with the maximum number of candidates, 80,051 from Malappuram district.

All university examinations, including those planned for Friday, have been postponed. The move caught hundreds of college students by surprise. Even as the decision could upset the academic calender, government officials said the measure was inevitable to preempt the community spread of the infection.

The epidemic situation in the State had caused the government to abruptly reverse its earlier plan of action to push ahead with the examination calendar for students ranging from Class VIII and upwards.

The administration had also factored in the recommendations of various examination boards and the Central government to postpone the tests.

It also considered the reduced availability of transport and hostel facilities. Several teachers organisations had also expressed their concern about holding examination during the outbreak. The State will review the academic situation on March 31.