The Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K P Anbalagan has tested positive for coronavirus, a hospital said on Tuesday, June 30, 2020. The Minister initially showed no symptoms and his CT scan was normal, but as a precautionary measure he was kept under observation, MIOT International said in a statement.

“Subsequently, his second sample tested positive for Covid-19. He developed mild cough yesterday (June 29) and is being treated for the same,” the hospital said, adding that K P Anbalagan is “at present very stable and all vital parameters are normal.”

K P Anbalagan, holding the portfolios of higher education including technical education, electronics, science and technology, has been undergoing treatment at the hospital for about a week, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government has cancelled Class 10 board exams. It had decided to promote its 9 lakh class 10 students on the basis of their scores in half yearly and quarterly exams and attendance. It has also cancelled the pending class 11 exams and postponed the class 12 exams for absentees.

Earlier, the opposition parties and Madras High Court had criticised the Tamil Nadu government for holding exams by putting the lives of students at risk. The Court had given time till June 11 for the TN government to decide on holding the exams. After conducting a review meeting on Tuesday, the TN chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said as health experts have stated that the Covid-19 infection rate will not drop and there’s been a rise in the number of coronavirus positive cases, it’s been decided to cancel class 10 and class 11 exams. “For class 10 students, they will get 80 percent weightage for half yearly and quarterly and 20 percent for attendance,” he said then. The students were supposed to appear for their class 10 board exams from June 15 at 12,690 centres.

Source: PTI

Also read: Tamil Nadu: Dire financial condition