New Delhi, Feb 27 Nearly 20,000 students from the Gulf countries will take the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations starting on March 3 at 70 centres, an official release said here on Friday.

This year, 11,144 students of Class 10 and 7,064 of Class 12, will take the board exams, a CBSE release said.

Last year, 10,964 candidates appeared for the Class 10 examinations while 7,476 students took the Class 12 exams.

Among the candidates in special categories, 13 are of Class 10 and 14 of Class 12 will appear for examinations.

Three helpline centres — Kuwait, Dubai and Doha — are catering to overseas students.

As many as 13,311 Class 10 and 8,596 Class 12 students will take the exams in other foreign countries.

The Gulf region is home to a 4.5 million-strong Indian diaspora.