CBSE Board Exam dates to be announced on December 31 at 6:00 pm: Education Minister

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has stated that dates for CBSE board exams will be announced on December 31 at 6:00 pm. Taking to Twitter, the Education Minister on Saturday night informed that he would announce the dates of the exam which will be conducted in 2021. Earlier, the Union Minister had clarified that exams for class 10 and 12 students will not be held until February.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted schools across India which had to be shut for months due to the virus outbreak. The pandemic has also forced to curtail the academic year and shifted education to remote methods such as online schooling. Due to the outbreak, board exams that were being conducted in March had to be postponed mid-way. The exams were later cancelled, and the results were announced on the basis of an alternative assessment scheme. 

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There have been demands for postponement of board exams to May in view of the continued closure of schools and teaching-learning activities being completely online. However, the Union Education Minister has stated that exams will be conducted in offline mode. While several schools have re-opened, certain states continue to impose a restriction on the opening of schools due to the prevalent situation in the concerned state. 

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CBSE Board Exams to be held offline

During a live discussion recently, the Education Minister also lamented the difficulties that would be faced by several students if the exams were conducted online. He noted that the availability of a laptop along with constant internet connection poses a challenge for several students. Pokhriyal acknowledged that even though this year’s curriculum incorporated online schooling, it might have not been fair to all the students set to appear for board examinations in 2021. Therefore, CBSE Class 10 and 12 Board exams will be held offline.

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Previously the Education Minister also announced that the Joint Entrance Examination or JEE Main will be conducted four times in 2021. The JEE Main 2021 will take place in February, March, April and May for students to have multiple attempts and a 'wide-area' for preparation and rectifying the mistakes without the loss of a whole year. He said that in 2021, the joint engineering exams will take place from February 23 to February 26.