Ramesh Pokhriyal to announce CBSE exam dates on Dec 31, students want it postponed till June

After a lot of confusion, the final dates of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will be announced by the Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on December 31, 2020, at 6 pm through a webinar on his official social media handles. "Major announcements for students & parents! I will announce the date when the exams will commence for students appearing for #CBSE board exams in 2021. Stay tuned," the Minister wrote on his Twitter on Saturday.

Pokhriyal had conducted several other live sessions in the past few weeks interacting with students, parents and teachers to discuss the issues and concerns surrounding the 2021 board exams, JEE and NEET examinations. Pokhriyal announced the dates of JEE Main 2021 on December 16 after a lot of confusion among students, parents across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The exams will be held from February 23 to 26 and will also be held four times from next year — February, March, April and May. For the first time, JEE Main 2021 will be held in 13 languages — English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

Students across the country have been asking the minister to postpone the CBSE board exams so that they get more time on their hands to prepare for it amid the prevailing conditions due to the pandemic. Schools, colleges and educational institutions have been shut down since March due to the unprecedented lockdown thus leading to an irregular academic regime.

MANY STUDENTS WILL COMMIT SUICIDE OR GO INTO A LIFE LONG DEPRESSION IF EXAMS ARE NOT POSTPONED TILL JULY 2021.UNDERSTAND THE STUDENT PROBLEMS SIR.

— STUDENT LIVES MATTER (@ForStudents17) December 26, 2020

On Twitter, numerous students want the exams to be postponed to June, much like the West Bengal board examinations have been. Some have even gone to the extent of stating that students might go into lifelong depression or even commit suicide if the exams are conducted early in 2021.

Reasons To Postpone Board Exams:
1. Schools still closed in many states
2. Not 100% access to online learning
3. Conducting practical exams without practical classes not possible
4. Many State Boards have already postponed the exams
5. Students not prepared for Offline Exams

— Yatnesh kelji (@YKelji) December 26, 2020

Others pointed out that due to the lack of basic internet connection in several areas, not all students have been able to attend regular online classes.