The Centre on Thursday said that the class 10th and 12th Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams for the year 2021 will be conducted in the conventional written mode and that as of now there is no consideration to conduct the exams online.
“The Board examinations of 2021 will be in the regular written manner and not online,” the CBSE stated. The dates of examination, however, have not been decided yet, Education Ministry officials said.
Besides this, the CISCE, which conducts the ISC and ICSE board exams has written to the chief ministers of all states and union territories asking for permission to partially reopen schools from January 4 so that board exam students of classes 10 and 12 could participate in project works, practical works, SUPW, and doubt-clearing sessions.
According to the Ministry of Education, “Conducting the examinations is important to ensure the progress as well as for the better future of the students”.
This year, amid the pandemic and ‘new normal’ scheme of things, a wide range of discussions have been underway among students, parents and teachers regarding the examinations.
From registration of Board exams to classroom operations, everything is being conducted virtually.
Earlier, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had said: “Online education is a big challenge for students who are constantly away from school and college. But students should always be ready to turn this challenge into an opportunity.”
In view of all such possibilities, the government has taken a new initiative to conduct the examinations timely amid the Covid-19 situation.
The Education Minister has planned a three-stage dialogue with the alumni, parents and teachers for conducting the examinations. He is likely to communicate directly with students, parents and teachers through webinars on three different dates.
After this virtual dialogue, the education minister will review the examinations to be held in the states and union territories. In this way, a detailed plan to conduct the examinations will be made according to the orders of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Home Affairs.
“The biggest challenge is to study with better resolve and will, and to release the results on time so that students do not waste an entire academic year,” he said, adding “for the better future of students, it is necessary to conduct examinations across the country on time”.
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) said in a statement that in case schools are allowed to reopen, they would follow all the safety guidelines and SOPs prescribed by the government.
CISCE has also asked the dates for the state elections to be held in April-May 2021 from the Chief Election Commissioner of India so that CISCE can finalise the ICSE board exam 2021 and ISC board exam 2021 dates, the commission said in their official statement.