Dates for 2021 West Bengal class 10 and 12 board examinations announced

West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education announced the 10 and 12 board examinations dates for 2021. Board exams will start from 1 June.

West Bengal secondary education board exams will start from 1 June. The higher secondary education board exams will be held from 15 June. In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the state government earlier postponed the examinations. The exams are usually held between February and March every year.

"We have accepted the recommendations of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and the West Bengal Council of Higher Education Education on holding the exams on later dates in view of the pandemic situation," West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee earlier said.

Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal `Nishan` earlier said that no Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board examinations for class 10 and 12 will take place in January of February 2021.

"Keeping the current situation in mind, it has been decided that the board exams for classes 10 and 12 will not be conducted till February next year. CBSE is making necessary preparations for conducting the 2021 examinations. A decision on the exam schedule will be taken later after assessment of situation and more consultations with stakeholders," Nishank said in an online interaction with teachers.

“Cancelling exams and promoting students without exam will put a stamp on these students. These students might face trouble in getting jobs and admissions at higher education level in future as they would be termed as COVID-era students. We do not want that for our students," he mentioned.

Pokhriyal also said that the exam will be conducted offline as ‘we need a laptop and stable internet and electricity for each student which is a challenge.’ The board exams will be conducted on a reduced syllabus. There will also be 33% internal choices in the exam, said Pokhiryal.

Schools across the country were closed in March to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were partially reopened in some states from 15 October. However, a few states have decided to keep them closed in view of a spike in the number of infections. Competitive exams like JEE and NEET were also postponed twice this year due to the pandemic.