New Delhi, 25 May 2021 – The National Testing Agency (NTA) is likely to conduct the previously postponed April and May sessions of JEE Main 2021 at the end of July and August respectively. In addition, the NTA has also hinted at the possibility of holding the NEET-UG exam in a pen-paper mode in September 2021, the registration for which is expected to begin from 1st July 2021.
Besides this, CBSE will also officially announce the Class 12 board exam 2021 date and format on 1st June 2021.
CBSE Class 12 Board Exam 2021 – Latest Updates
The news of CBSE conducting Class 12 board exams came as a surprise to students. As per the latest reports, CBSE will officially announce the Class 12 board exam 2021 date and format on 1st June 2021.
Furthermore, on Sunday, 23rd May 2021, CBSE presented two options for the Class 12 board examination 2021:
- The exam authority can conduct the Class 12 exams for 19 major subjects between 1st and 19th August 2021 and mark the minor subjects based on the overall performance.
- The Board exam can be conducted in 2 phases (15th July to 1st August 2021 and 5th to 26th August 2021) and the respective states can select any one of their preferred exam phases from the two offered, depending on the COVID situation at that place.
Based on the request of the Union Education Minister, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, a majority of the states are likely to submit their suggestions regarding the Class XII Board and other entrance exams on Tuesday (25th May 2021). From there, CBSE would carry on with reviewing the situation.
Based on the analysis of the overall situation, it is being assumed that the final decision from CBSE can create a cascading effect on several NTA-conducted entrance examinations. Furthermore, state-specific exams like UPCET are also anticipated to come under this snowball effect.
Elucidating on the entire scenario, one of the official sources stated, “From the decision to roll out the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) to conducting JEE Main exam, everything rests on the decision of conducting Class 12 exams. NTA is working vigorously on various combinations depending on different situations that may arise during this current situation.”
Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, in support of CBSE, also assured the students and parents that the final decision would be made and announced at the earliest.
JEE Main 2021 – Latest Updates
Due to the increase in coronavirus cases during April and May of 2021, NTA was forced to postpone the last two exam sessions (April and May) of JEE Main 2021. As per the recent update from NTA, pending examinations may be conducted in July and August.
- Although the exact dates of the exams are not released yet, the new dates of the two deferred JEE Main exam sessions will be announced along with the CBSE Class 12 board exam dates.
- The final JEE Main 2021 exam date will be announced on the official website – www.jeemain.nta.nic.in at least 15 days before the exam.
- The registration schedule for the May Session will also be announced at a later stage.
NEET UG 2021 – Latest Updates
Around 2 months back, NTA had announced the schedule of NEET 2021. Although NEET-UG 2021 was announced to be held on 1st August in offline mode and the registration process was to begin from April 2021, NTA kept on deferring the examination due to the second wave of COVID.
While the exam authority was tight-lipped about whether or not it is conducting NEET on the scheduled date, the shifting of the current exam date (August 1) to a further date seems to be on the cards. If the CBSE Board exams are conducted in August, it would automatically push the NEET-UG exam date to the first or second end of September 2021. In such a case, the NEET-UG registration will probably begin from 1st July 2021. However, the entire situation depends upon the ongoing pandemic.
Expectations and Speculations Regarding All 3 Examinations
- If CBSE chooses to go with the second option of conducting the Board exams in two phases, instead of holding the exam in July-August, NTA may have to push the JEE Main 2021 to the first or second week of September.
- The above factor is likely to affect NEET-UG exam dates (postponement) as JEE Main is conducted first and then the medical examination takes place.
- The shift in JEE main examination can affect the admissions of qualified students to IITs, National Institutes of Technology (NITs), and different centrally funded technical establishments (CFTIs).
- If the Class 12 exams are canceled or truncated, CUCET will emerge as an important player for the admission of students to various Central Universities.
