The pending CBSE class 10 and 12 board exams will be held from July 1 to July 15, the HRD ministry announced on Friday aiming to bring relief to lakhs of anxious students and kick start the next academic session.
“The students have been impatiently waiting for the schedule for pending exams. It has been decided today that the exams will be conducted from July 1 to 15,” HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said.
While the exams for 12 subjects of class 12 will be held across the country, the exams for class 10 will be held only in north-east Delhi, where some of the tests could not be held earlier because of communal violence in the area. Overall the CBSE would conduct 27 exams.
We can conduct the exams in a fortnight and the date sheet will be brought out soon. However, a lot of work needs to be done regarding norms as to how students will come to exam centres, the seating arrangement, etc. CBSE will bring out certain directions from time to time in this regard. School management will also have to do their part so that social distancing takes place,” said a senior CBSE official.
However, to conduct such a massive exercise involving over 12 lakh students across all states and union territories is not an easy task considering the pandemic coronavirus continues to lurk ominously.
A government official, who wished not to be identified, said that while the board and the HRD ministry are keen that exams are held, the situation is an evolving one and will continue to be monitored.
Significantly, while the HRD ministry and CBSE are hoping to get the exams conducted in July, there have been studies that point out that COVID-19 may not thaw completely by that time.
Randeep Guleria, the director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had recently said that the Covid-19 pandemic in the country may not have peaked yet.
According to modeling data and the way our cases are increasing, it is likely that peak can come in June and July. But there are many variables and with time only we will know how much they are effective and the effect of extending the lockdown,” said Guleria.
Asked if this had been factored in while announcing the new dates, the HRD ministry official cited above said the ministry was moving with positive intent, however, in an uncertain situation, there will be definitely a review if in case the situation requires it.
The HRD ministry had earlier announced that the JEE (Main) exam will be conducted from July 18 to 23 and NEET from July 26.
“We want to give students a ten-day window before we commence the exams. It is unlikely that exams will happen in May. So, the plan is to complete the process in the first half of July,” he said.
The engineering entrance examination JEE will be held from July 18-23, while the medical entrance test NEET will be conducted on July 26, the minister had earlier announced. The two crucial exams, and also the Class X and Class XII exams were postponed due to the lockdown imposed to combat the spread of Covid-19.