Coronavirus lockdown 2.0: What about CBSE\, ICSE exams\, NEET?

Coronavirus lockdown 2.0: What about CBSE, ICSE exams, NEET?

CBSE, CISCE, NEET, NTA, JEE-Main and several other exams are in a fix as the central government hasn't taken a decision on them yet and the schools are shut at least till the lockdown gets over

In an attempt to contain coronavirus cases in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended the nationwide lockdown till May 3. While there is hope of easing the lockdown in selective places after April 20, schools across India will remain shut at least until the lockdown gets over. As the centre is yet to make a concrete decision on the future of these exams, uncertainty prevails among students sitting for class 10 or class 12 board exams.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) and several state boards have already postponed examinations. CBSE postponed all the board examinations that were to be held between March 19 to March 31, 2020. CBSE Board has also cancelled class 10 and 12 board exams for students located outside India.

The board had already directed schools to promote all students studying in class 1 to 9 and class 11, in the academic session 2019-20 to the next grade. However, for Class 10 and Class 12 students, the CBSE is reportedly mulling to exclude few papers which are not the "main subjects".

On the other hand, state boards have decided to release the results without conducting the pending exams and some have simply decided to promote students to the next grade. Odisha government has announced that schools in the state remain closed till June 17. With this, it is assumed that CBSE schools in the state will not resume exams before June 17. West Bengal has decided to shut schools and colleges till June 10.

The University of Delhi is also considering cancellation of the semester examination for first and second-year students. The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, (IIT-D) said it is planning to restart the current academic session from the first week of July, and concluding by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, both engineering and medical entrances--Joint Entrance Examination (JEE-Main) and The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) have also been postponed due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts engineering and medical entrance examination stated earlier that the NEET and JEE Main will be held in the last week of May. It remains to be seen if the dates of these exams are pushed further.