CBSE Board exam to be held after February 2021; online tests impossible, new dates to be announced soon: Ramesh Pokhriyal

NEW DELHI: Ending all speculations, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' has said that the upcoming Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board exams will not be held until February 2021. 

The Union Minister added that a decision on when to commence the exams will be taken by the government later. 

Pokhriyal made the important announcement during a live interaction with teachers on the CBSE board exams. Prior to this, he had interacted with students regarding entrance exams and online classes. 

On the modes of exams, Pokhriyal said, "Many CBSE schools are in rural areas. Hence, online examinations are not possible."

The Union Education Minister stated that cancelling exams and promoting students without exams will result in putting a stamp on these students and these students might face trouble in getting jobs and admissions at higher education level in the future.

He further stated that the government cannot allow COVID-19 to impact the students and label them as COVID-era students who cleared the classes without any examination.

He also confirmed that there would be no practical examinations in January and February, saying it was not possible to conduct examinations in the months of January and February 2021. As for dates in March, he confirmed that the situation is being assessed and dates would be announced soon.

Talking about a reduction of the syllabus for the academic year 2020-21, he said that the CBSE has already reduced the syllabus to 30 percent, and many state governments have also reduced their syllabus for the academic year 2020-21. “The exams would be conducted on the basis of the reduced syllabus,” he said.

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