This year the Joint Entrance Exam (Main) will be conducted in four sessions in February, March, April and May starting from February 23 to 26, 2021. The next sessions of the exam will take place between March 15-18, April 27-30 and May 24-28.
The date of JEE Main's May session is overlapping with the biology paper of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exam. CBSE Class 12 exam will be conducted from May 4 to June 11, 2021, in offline mode. The biology paper, which is slated to be held on May 24, is overlapping with JEE Main's paper.
As per the report by Times of India, students of the Biology-Maths group are worried and demanded that the JEE Main's May session be postponed to avoid the clash.
However, the NTA officials stated that the students who have CBSE paper on May 24, will not be given a JEE Main's slot on the May 24.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced on Tuesday the schedule for classes 10 and 12 board exams which will begin on May 4.
According to the datasheet, the exams for class 10 will conclude on June 7, while those for class 12 will end on June 11. The exams for class 12 will be conducted in two shifts to reduce the number of exam days.
Over 34 lakh students have registered this year for classes 10 and 12 examinations.
Usually, practical exams are conducted in January and written exams begin in February and conclude in March. However, the exams have delayed this session in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' who announced the schedule wished luck to students appearing for the exams.
"Please be assured that we have done our best to ensure that these exams go smoothly for you. Wish you good luck!" Pokhriyal tweeted.
Schools across the country were closed in March last year to contain the spread of COVID-19. They were partially reopened in some states from October 15.
The board exams last year had to be postponed mid-way in March. They were later cancelled and the results announced on the basis of an alternative assessment scheme.
Elaborating on the exam schedule, Sanyam Bhardwaj, Controller of Examination of CBSE, said, "Class 12 exams would be conducted in two shifts to reduce the number of days in conducting examinations. In the second shift, examinations will be conducted in subjects which are not opted by students in schools situated abroad". The timings for the two shifts will be 10:30 am to 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm-5:30 pm.
"In the second shift, examinations will be conducted on four days. On those days exams for class 10 will be conducted in the morning shift. The exam date sheet has been prepared in such a manner that on any day, the total number of students in an examination centre is limited. This will help the examination centres to strictly follow the COVID-19 safety norms. No school staff who has worked on morning shift will be given duty on afternoon shift following safety guidelines," he said.
The number of days taken to conduct exams is less than in previous years.
"This year, fewer days are taken to conduct the examinations from last years. In 2020, examination schedule was of 45 days. However, in 2021, the examination schedule is of 39 days.
"Sufficient time has been given between the examinations of two main subjects in both the classes. This will reduce the stress of the students and help them in better preparations for the examinations," he added.
For class 12, the exam will begin with English subject on May 4 followed by additional subjects like Taxation, Carnatic Vocal Music and Hindustani Music on May 5.
On May 6, exams for subjects including Knowledge tradition and practices of India, Nepali, Automotive, Financial Markets Management, Insurance, Electronic Technology, Medical diagnostics, Kuchipudi dance and Odissi dance, will be conducted in a second shift, followed by Physical Education exam on May 8.
Examination for Engineering graphics, Food production, Media, Shorthand and Textile Design will be conducted on May 10, followed by Typography and Fashion Studies on May 11 and Business Studies and Business Administration on May 12.
Physics (May 13), Retail and Mass Media Studies (May 15), Accountancy (May 17), Chemistry (May 18), Political Science (May 19), Biology (May 24), Economics (May 25), Geography (June 2 ), Psychology (June 5), History (June 10) and exam for Entrepreneurship will be conducted on June 11.
(With inputs from PTI)
