CBSE 2021 exams postponed not cancelled; check dates

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank addressed a live session with teachers across the country on Tuesday to address queries regarding CBSE Board Exams 2021, days after the Centre made a big decision on JEE-Main 2021 exam schedule.

Many countries have canceled one entire academic year but our teachers continued to work hard and did not allow any candidate to waste their academic year. Teachers are no less than corona warriors for training 33 crore students across countries during this tough time, the Education Minister said.

On CBSE Board Exams 2021:

Cancelling exams and promoting students will result in putting a stamp on these students and they might face an issue in getting jobs and admissions at higher education levels in the future. We do not want that for our students. Thus, cancellation will not happen. The board exams will be held but postponed. The class 10 and 12 board exams will not be held in January-February. But when exactly will the exams will be held will be decided after Feb, said Pokhriyal. The minister also said that the CBSE board exams will be held on a reduced syllabus. 30% of the total syllabus has been cut and some states have also announced a similar move while others are expected to do the same. There will also be 33% internal choices in the exam, he added. 

The Education Minister said that the exam will be conducted offline as "we need a laptop and stable internet and electricity for each student which is a challenge." “A percentage of students do not have equal access to education. While we have used unique methods to teach students but having such methods for exams might not be fair,” he said.

On JEE Mains 2021:

We have introduced more internal options in JEE Main -- of the 90 questions in each section, students will have to answer only 75 questions. Students whose boards have reduced syllabus by 30 per cent will have lesser choices but they will not lose anything. Thus, students can prepare as per their own boards, the Education Minister said.

I am glad to say that India has become the first country to include Artificial Intelligence from school level, the education minister said during the live live interaction with teachers.

On NEP: 

On the New Education Policy, Pokhriyal said that a teacher is a key between the drafting of the national education policy (NEP) and its implementation on the ground, adding that implementation of a policy is tough but must task.

Online education training of teachers:

Since schools have moved to online education training of teachers in this field is critical. "We have launched several platforms including 'Nishtha'. CBSE has trained 4.80 lakh teachers in online education teaching. Due to the pandemic, education had moved to online platforms. Schools are yet to resume to their full capacities," the Education Minister said.

Pokhriyal also said, “We are making our students degree-holders and they are running after packages and not patent. We need to impart life values to our students as well. This is the responsibility of all of us. Without the conscious, life values, a human is like a machine. The NEP focuses on this as well.'  He added, 'our students need to be not just good humans, good citizens, but also global citizens.'

‘Manodarpan’ initiative:

Answering to one query of a teacher, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said that more than 500 psychiatrists have been made available to the students. "We have launched a program called My book my friend, IIT have done so many researches during the COVID-19 crisis. Students have utilised this difficult time," adding, "Even today around 300 psychiatrists have been helping thousands of teachers and students to protect them mental stress." “We have been promoting the students to practise Yoga and have helped to uplift the mental and physical health of teachers as well," the Education Minister added.

Due to lack of access to the Internet, teachers in some remote areas are teaching through loudspeakers. We are aware of your challenges and the determination you have to overcome these challenges and your concern for these children is valid. We have covered a lot and are working in this regard. We have come up with different modes such as TV, DTH services, community radio etc. I believe we will soon get a solution to these infrastructural issues, Pokhriyal said.

The Education Minister was earlier scheduled to make the announcement on December 17 but it was postponed to December 22, considering the overwhelming response.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, the Education Ministry on Monday tweeted, "Teachers, tomorrow is the day! Education Minister Goes Live. Meet Union Education Minister Shri Dr R P Nishank live tomorrow on his Twitter/Facebook pages and interact with him. Hope to see you all there!"

There has been a lot of buzz on social media as well as media reports claiming that the CBSE Board Exams for classes 10 and 12 will be held in March 2021. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued a clarification on December 10 that any decision on the board exams for classes 10 and 12 would be communicated at an appropriate time on its official website.

According to media reports, the Education Minister may use the webinar to announce the CBSE class 10 & 12 Board Exams 2021 dates.

Earlier, Pokhriyal had held a similar discussion with students on December 10 to clear the air around CBSE board exams, syllabus and other issues related to the exams.