23The Central government on Sunday asked state governments to send their suggestions by May 25 on the issue of pending Class XII CBSE board examinations as the country battles the second pandemic wave. It will examine the suggestions and take the final call either before or by June 1.
The decision was taken at a high-level national meeting on conducting Class XII and other professional courses entrance exams. The meeting was chaired by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and was attended by Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal; Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani; Union Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change and Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar among others.
Stating that the priority of the government was to hold all examinations in a safe and secure environment, Pokhriyal stated that the Class XII Board exams and all India entrance exams play a key role in shaping the future and defining the careers of students in the country.
Due to the pandemic, the Central government had earlier decided to cancel the CBSE Board examinations forClass X.
The discussions were held around two themes — board exams to be conducted for Class XII by the Central Board of Secondary Education and other State Boards and the All-India Entrance examinations for various higher education institutions and professional courses. “Various options regarding the methodology, process, duration and timings of the exams were discussed. While a broad consensus was there, it was decided that States and UTs may like to further examine the matter and send their feedback in writing by the 25th of May 2021,” a statement from the Education Ministry added.
“Following the consultative meeting with the States and UTs today, the Government of India will examine the suggestions received from the various State governments this week and convey further information in this regard to the students by or before the 1st of June 2021,” the statement added.