MHRD Minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal conducted a LIVE webinar yesterday (Dec 22, 2020) at 4 pm to interact with students and teachers across the country. He announced that the board exams in 2021 for Class 10 and 12 will not be conducted before February 2021. Also, the practical exams which usually take place in the month of January and February have been postponed. The official schedule for the exam will soon be announced after accessing the COVID-19 situation in the first month of January.
This announcement would certainly bring a sigh of relief to the students and teachers, who were anxiously waiting for the Education Minister’s decision on the upcoming board exams. Teachers and students across the country had shared their suggestions regarding the CBSE board exams for Class 10 and 12 using #EducationMinisterGoesLive.
आचार्य देवो भव: Interacting with teachers on upcoming board exams. #EducationMinisterGoesLive @EduMinOfIndia @SanjayDhotreMP @PIB_India @MIB_India @DDNewslive https://t.co/SSNzSkkV4f
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) December 22, 2020
Education Minister’s Webinar – Sequence of Important Announcements and Discussions
1. Regarding the Mode of Conduct for Board Examinations – Answering a query by a teacher on whether the exams will be conducted in online mode or not, the MHRD Minister clearly stated that the CBSE 2021 board exams for Class 10 and 12 will be conducted in offline mode. This decision has been taken considering that the majority of schools in the country are in rural places, where the internet connectivity and infrastructure is still low. Under such circumstances, it will be extremely difficult to conduct the exams in online mode.
2. Regarding Reduction in Board Syllabus – Answering a query from a teacher on further reduction of the syllabus, the Union Minister stated that the Ministry has already decided to reduce 30% of syllabus and no further reduction will be made. The exam pattern will also be modified to make it favourable for the students.
3. Regarding Postponement of Board Exams – Answering a query from a teacher on the postponement of board exams, the Minister said that the exams will not be conducted till February, and the official schedule will be announced only after assessing the pandemic situation in the country in the next couple of months. Further, the practical exams which were supposed to be held in the month of January and February, have also been postponed till the end of February.
4. Regarding Students Who Do Not Have Internet And Digital Facilities – A teacher from Jharkhand asked, “How to teach students who are not blessed with facilities like mobile phones, internet and digital mediums?” In reply, the Minister said, “We have 32 Swayam Prabha’s channels which are available on various television platforms. Apart from this, students can attend radio classes from a wide range of 800 radio programmes.”
5. Regarding Teacher Training – The Union Education Minister also said that around 4 lakh 80 thousand teachers have been trained for online teachings. This includes teachers from various boards such as KVS, JNS,NVS and CBSE.
6. Regarding the Concern About Students’ Mental Health – On being asked about the mental health of the students amidst the pandemic, the Minister said that “Ministry has implemented various measures to keep the mental health of the students balanced during the COVID 19.” He added, “Fit India Movement, online yoga sessions, online programs and other activities are a part of it”.
7. Regarding NEP 2020 – Emphasizing on the New Education Policy, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal said “India will become the first country to introduce artificial intelligence in school curriculum.”
To further strategise the Indian Government’s initiative to conduct the board exams amidst the pandemic, the Union Minister has planned a three-way interaction with students, teachers and parents as well. The Minister has planned to interact with all the three stakeholders through a webinar in the upcoming 3 days. Previously, on 10th December 2020, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal conducted an online webinar to discuss several questions put up by students regarding the schedule and syllabus of JEE Main and NEET 2021.
