The government’s decision of delaying the CBSE Class 12 board examinations is expected to affect the admission schedule of engineering colleges this year. With the CBSE Class 12 board exams delayed, many state boards have followed suit. The government, at the same time, has mentioned that deliberation on the new dates of Class 12 exams will be done on 1 June 2021 and shared duly with the students at least 15 days before the start of the examination.
In such a scenario, the JEE (A) as well as the NEET exam are most-likely to be affected. This is especially true since the CBSE Class 12 board exam, if scheduled in June, is likely to clash with the JEE (A) start date i.e., July 3.
Reasons that hint towards a probable postponement in engineering admissions 2021
- Speaking about the JEE Main April attempt, the NTA is yet to release the admit card for the exam. Even though there has been no official statement on this subject, the rising COVID cases in the country are likely to push the JEE Main April exams (scheduled to be held on 27, 28, 29, and 30 April) to a further date.
- It must be noted that the JEE Main scores in 2021 hold a lot of importance for admission to engineering colleges this year. This is because the board exam eligibility criteria have already been relaxed for engineering admissions; while the students still have to pass the board examination, there is no minimum cut-off required for admissions. Hence, a delay in JEE Main exams would lead to an interruption in the usual schedule of engineering admissions this year.
- Most of the central universities release their own entrance exam forms only after the Class 12 results are announced. A delay in board examination would further delay the Class 12 exam result process which will consequently lead to postponement of engineering admission rounds.
The academic year started late last year since all the major exams including NEET, JEE Main, and JEE Advanced were pushed to September 2020 due to the pandemic. With an expected delay in this year’s entrance exams too, a further delayed academic year 2021-22 is expected.
