Over 5 lakh Indian students, mostly schoolchildren, in seven West Asian nations have been caught in the conflict, with the immediate consequence being the postponement of a day’s board exams for those enrolled in CBSE or CISCE-affiliated schools there.
Some 4.93 lakh Indian children are enrolled in schools and another 12,000 in higher-education institutions in these countries, data provided by junior foreign minister Kirti Vardhan Singh in the Rajya Sabha on December 4 last year shows. (See chart)
Of the schoolchildren, the majority are believed to be studying in schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education or the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations — which conducts the ICSE (Class X) and ISC (Class XII) exams — on these foreign shores.
As the US and Israel targeted Iran, which hit back at Israel and American military installations in the region, the CBSE postponed Monday’s Class X and XII board exams in its schools in war-affected Iran, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The CISCE has schools in Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE.
The board exams had already started, with the students having sat for a few papers. In India, Monday’s exams will continue as scheduled.
A circular issued by CBSE examination controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said the papers scheduled for March 2 had been postponed in these seven countries because of the situation in the region, and that new dates would be announced later.
“The board will review the situation on Tuesday, 03 March 2026, and take appropriate decisions with regard to examinations scheduled from 05 March onwards,” the circular said.
“All students are advised to stay in touch with their schools for updates and follow official announcements carefully.”
The CISCE issued a similar circular. “We will watch the situation and then take a call (on the next course of action),” the council’s chief executive and secretary, Joseph Emmanuel, told The Telegraph.
Reports have said that educational institutions are closed in Iran. It’s not clear whether similar closures have happened in the six other countries.
Veteran educationists in India expressed concern about the future of the Indian students and their expatriate families in West Asia if the conflict dragged on or, worse, snowballed.
“Most of the students are children of the Indian expatriate community. Their careers and their parents’ and guardians’ livelihood could be at stake (if the conflict continued),” Furqan Qamar, former vice-chancellor of the Himachal Pradesh Central University, said.
He said the expat children studying in Indian board-affiliated schools can easily resume their education if they have to return home, but the anxiety and uncertainty of war and the trauma of any possible relocation are bound to leave a scar.