After the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) and several state boards cancelled the class 12 board exams 2021 amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Testing Agency (NTA) that conducts the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) (Main) exams will hold a review meeting to take a decision on the medical entrance and engineering entrance exams.
It is pertinent to note that the NEET and JEE exams are necessary as they facilitate admissions to the top medical and engineering institutes of the country and policymakers are trying to figure out a conducive time to conduct these examinations.
India Today quoted a senior government official as saying, “The government is aware that the entrance examinations need to be conducted. Unlike the board exams, they cannot be cancelled because college seats are filled up on a competitive test basis. “ He further added, “However, it is not right to put a timeline as to when the exams will be held as this may lead to undue anxiety among participants. The Covid-19 situation is being closely studied.”
The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Mains is being conducted four times a year from this session onwards to offer flexibility to students and a chance to improve their scores. The first phase in February was followed by the second in March.
JEE Advanced, which is the entrance exam to the IITs, has been postponed. Earlier, the exam was scheduled to be held on July 3 the revised dates are yet to be announced.
The JEE and NEET exams were conducted despite the challenges posed by the pandemic last year and it is highly unlikely that the entrance exams will be cancelled this year.
Earlier, it was announced by Union Education Ministry that any final announcement on NEET 2021 entrance exam dates will be made only after the review of the COVID-19 situation in the country. JEE Main 2021 Examination dates would be released by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for both sessions at least 15 days before the exam.
Meanwhile, the dates for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test 2021 (NEET 2021) entrance exam for the undergraduate course is likely to be announced soon. Sources said that the NEET 2021 students can expect the announcement in the next two weeks.
It is learned that the Union Education Ministry would hold a high-level meeting with the Vice-Chancellors of various universities to hold discussions over the dates of CUCET 2021, JEE 2021 and NEET 2021 entrance exams.
