JEE, NEET and CBSE Board Exams 2021: Education Minister Main Announcements

Today, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' was live on Twitter. He discussed several concerns and addressed queries of students, parents and teachers related to the board exams, JEE Main and NEET 2021 exam dates. The academic calendar 2021 is still awaited for the exams. Check the important and main announcements made by the Education Minister today.

Main updates on JEE, NEET & CBSE Board Exams 2021

1. Postponement of CBSE Board Exam 2021: Education Minister pointed out that the board exams schedule is usually set earlier. Not committing to postponing of the examination, Pokhriyal said that the board would keep assessing the situation and would appropriately decide on the best possible solution for the schedule of the examinations.

2. CBSE Board 2021 Practical Exams: Education Minister Pokhriyal said that while schools have already reopened in 17 states, the attendance remains low. He said, in case the situation is still not favourable for conducting practical examinations, the board may announce alternatives to the same. He further added that the practical examination is conducted at the students' own school and can be held while keeping the SOPs in place quite comfortably.

3. Syllabus cut of JEE and NEET 2021: Pokhriyal said that the discussions are in place. Possibly the sample paper may be tweaked (like introducing multiple choices or giving fewer questions from the syllabus that have been removed) in the competitive exams. He noted suggestions on reducing the syllabus by 10 to 20 per cent. However, there is no indication that the same would be followed.

4. Cancellation of NEET 2021: Answering a query on cancelling NEET 2021, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal also dismissed the possibility of cancellation of any exams. He said that the examinations were held in 2020 during the pandemic, and students were happy with the government and Supreme Court decision not to waste the year and conduct the exams. Similarly, the examinations would be conducted this year as well.

5. Postponement of JEE and NEET 2021: Ramesh Pokhriyal said that the exam dates would be shared with the students at the earliest. The considerations and queries of the students have been noted, Discussions are going on and as per the situations (whether conducive or not), decisions concerning JEE and NEET 2021 exam dates would be taken and notified soon.