In the midst of Coronavirus impact, CBSE and ICSE/ISC board examinations for Classes X and XII scheduled between March 19 and 31 have been postponed to a later date. Even India’s most prestigious exam – JEE Main examination, which is held for admission into engineering colleges, will also be postponed to a later date.
As India has already reported 168 cases of COVID-19 positive, the governments have taken actions to ensure that students are not exposed to the infection.
While talking to Moneycontrol, Human resources ministry sources shared that the decision had been taken after a repeated increase in the number of positive cases. An official said:
“We did not want to disrupt the board examination schedule. However, the rise in reported COVID-19 positive cases has forced us to take this decision. It was felt that maintaining three to six feet distance between each student in an exam centre was not feasible.”
1. CBSE Board Exams
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), in a March 18 notification, said that board exams scheduled between March 19 and 31 along with the rescheduled examinations for the North East Delhi candidates (who were affected by the violence in February 2020) would be rescheduled.
2. ISC & ICSE Board Exams
Similarly, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations announced on March 19 that all examinations for Class X and XII would be postponed.
3. NIOS Exams
Even the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has suspended all examinations to be held till March 31. NIOS offers exams for open schools with an objective to increase the level of literacy among rural and urban areas.
4. JEE Main Exam
The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main, which was supposed to be conducted between April 7-12, has also been rescheduled by the National Testing Agency.
JEE Main is one of the most prestigious entrance exams for admission to the engineering institutes like Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and private engineering colleges.
5. NEET Exam
With respect to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2020 to be held on May 3 for the admission into undergraduate medical education programmes, there was an expectation that it would be postponed. However, no such decision has yet been taken by the National Testing Agency.
Maharashtra which is the worst-hit state in India already announced on March 16 that all school and college examinations, except Class X and XII boards – held between March 17 and 31 – would be rescheduled. The state government under Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has also announced a temporary shutdown of all educational institutions.
The state board SSC examinations in Maharashtra are still on schedule. The last date of the examination is March 23, 2020.
As we get more information we will update the list.
