The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday again delayed Class 10 and Class 12 board exams set for Thursday (March 12) and Friday (March 6) in various West Asian countries amid the Iran-US-Israel conflict. Delhi Public School in Dubai… “The new dates will be announced later,” the board stated in a March 3 circular to principals of over 150 CBSE-affiliated schools in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The exams had originally been slated for March 2 but were postponed two days earlier. Per the latest circular, the board will once more “review the situation” on Thursday and “take appropriate decisions” on exams set to begin from March 7. The circular stated, “All students are advised to remain in contact with their schools for updates and to carefully follow official announcements.” The decision impacts thousands of Indian students enrolled in CBSE-affiliated schools throughout the Gulf region. In particular, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are home to a large number of Indian expatriate families, with CBSE schools there representing a substantial portion of overseas candidates taking the board exams annually. CBSE officials declined to comment on the number of affected students. We have not yet estimated the number of students affected. An official stated, “We are currently focusing on assessing the situation in the affected countries and providing prompt updates and circulars with all pertinent information.” The CBSE holds Class 10 and Class 12 board exams each year in India and at select overseas centers hosting its affiliated schools. The Gulf region hosts the largest overseas cluster of CBSE schools, with Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Riyadh serving as major examination centers. The postponement represented a rare mid-session interruption to overseas board exams. Over recent years, the CBSE has changed exam schedules primarily in exceptional situations—especially in 2020 and 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, when multiple Class 10 and 12 exams in India and overseas were delayed or canceled.