CBSE Board, NEET, JEE 2021 exam dates: What will Centre say on December 10; check out all details here

As speculations are going rife over the dates of 2021 Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Board, National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) exam dates, the Centre will talk about upcoming competitive and board exams on December 10. 

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on December 2  had said that he will address all concerns in a live interaction. Pokhriyal said that he would go live on Twitter and Facebook to answer the queries of students, teachers and parents. 

Before the live interaction, the minister has invited concerns, suggestions and opinions from the stakeholders for the same. Those who want to voice their concern can do so by tweeting using the hashtag #EducationMinisterGoesLive.   

"Dear all, 2020 has been a year of a great many changes like adjusting to #onlineeducation, adapting to #newnormal. Happy to share that I am going live on Dec 10 to talk about upcoming competitive/board exams with you. Drop your concerns below using #EducationMinisterGoesLive," Pokhriyal tweeted on December 2 (Wednesday).

Dear all, 2020 has been a year of a great many changes like adjusting to #onlineeducation, adapting to #newnormal.
Happy to share that I am going live on Dec 10 to talk about upcoming competitive/board exams with you.
Drop your concerns below using #EducationMinisterGoesLive. pic.twitter.com/E9bigQQRaL

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) December 2, 2020

In an important development, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made a crucial announcement for classes 10 and 12 students who will be appearing for the CBSE examination in 2021.

Schools across the country were closed in March to contain the spread of COVID-19 and partially reopened in some states from October 15. However, a few states decided to keep them closed in view of a spike in the infections.

Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' is scheduled to hold an interaction with students, teachers and parents on December 10 on the issue of conduct of board examinations and competitive examinations in 2021.

Officials on December 2 told news agency PTI that consultations on dates for the conduct of the CBSE exams in 2021 are still underway. They also spoke on the mode of conducting the exams.

Meanwhile, in an important development, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) made a crucial announcement for classes 10 and 12 students who will be appearing for the CBSE examination in 2021. Schools across the country were closed in March to contain the spread of COVID-19 and partially reopened in some states from October 15. However, a few states decided to keep them closed in view of a spike in the infections.

Officials on December 2 told news agency PTI that consultations on dates for the conduct of the CBSE exams in 2021 are still underway. They also spoke on the mode of conducting the exams.

The CBSE Board exams in 2021 will be in written mode only and not online, as reported by PTI. The officials of the board also said that if students were not able to sit for practicals in classes before the exams, alternatives would be explored.

"No final decision has been taken regarding the dates for the conduct of board exams, and consultations with stakeholders are still in process. The exams, as and when they are conducted, will be in the written mode and not in an online mode. The exams will be conducted following all COVID protocols," a senior CBSE official said.

"In case students are not able to do practicals in classes before the exams, alternatives to practical exams will have to be explored," the official added.

The 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. Competitive exams like JEE and NEET were also postponed twice this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Main for admission to engineering colleges across the country is likely to be held in February instead of January, according to officials. The rising number of COVID-19 cases and engineering admission for this year still being underway are among the reasons behind authorities contemplating the move.

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The JEE-Main, which is the national-level competitive test for admission to various undergraduate engineering and architecture courses, is conducted twice a year--January and April. However, due to the COVID-19 situation, the April exam was postponed twice and conducted in September.