Delhi, August 13: Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes students in Delhi will continue to pay Rs 50 as Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exam fees and the rest will be paid the Delhi government, the CBSE said on Tuesday. The CBSE had recently announced a hike in fees for 10th and 12th Board examinations. CBSE Hikes Exam Fees for SC/ST Pupils by 24 Times, General Category to Pay Double.

"We have issued a circular to the Delhi Government today that SC/ST students in Delhi will have to pay Rs 50 only for Class X and Class XII Board examinations," CBSE Secretary Anurag Tripathi said. He added that the decision to provide relief to Delhi SC/ST students was taken on the directions of the HRD Ministry.

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The board will restore the practice of charging fifty rupees from schools for SC/ST candidates for Class 10 and Class 12 examinations. Last week, the fees for general category candidates was doubled to Rs 1,500 from Rs 75O. The fees for SC and ST students in Delhi, who were paying Rs 50 while the Delhi government paid the rest, was raised to Rs 1,200.

Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written to Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal over "sharp hike in CBSE examination fee". "Odisha government has opened CBSE affiliated schools in rural areas for economically & socially underprivileged sections. This decision is bound to result in acute hardship for them" the letter stated.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2019 10:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).