Ahmedabad, July 1: Considering the COVID-19 situation in Gujarat, the state government on Wednesday announced the postponement of all college and varsity examinations. Among the exams deferred also includes the Gujarat Technical University (GTU) exams 2020, which thousands of students across the state were scheduled to appear. Assam University Cancelled Its PG, UG & Semester Examinations That Were Scheduled for July 2020? PIB Reveals Truth Behind Fake News.

A section of students had been raising an online campaign to seek the cancellation of examinations. The government had earlier dismissed the call to reject the exams, claiming that a majority of candidates want to appear for the tests.

An online poll earlier conducted on the website of GTU had, according to the government, revealed that nearly 54,000 students were in favour of exams being held, whereas, only 900 wanted the examinations to be cancelled and they be marked on average basis.

Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, while addressing the reporters today, said the state government in consultation with the Centre decided to postpone the examinations.

"GTU and other college and university exams have been postponed as per Central government's instructions," he was reported as saying.

Notably, a number of examinations across the country have been either deferred or cancelled as the number of coronavirus cases continue to spike. Health experts have warned against all forms of gathering to prevent the transmission of virus.

The countrywide toll of COVID-19 cases surged above 5.85 lakh today, whereas, the death count reached 17,400. In Gujarat, the overall count of coronavirus cases stood at 32,446, including 1,848 fatalities.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 01, 2020 05:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).