CBSE, JEE Main, NEET Exam 2021 Dates: No plan to cancel exams, says Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank

There is no plan to cancel National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2021, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said on Thursday. The Union Minister was addressing a live session held to address queries raised by students about the upcoming board and entrance examinations. “There is no plan to cancel NEET 2021,” the Education Minister said adding that the medical entrance examination was postponed thrice in 2020 and students were also given an opportunity to change their test centres. “We could have cancelled the exam but it would have been a great loss for students and the country,” he added. NEET is conducted in offline mode, but the minister today said that online mode for NEET exam will be considered if the students want it. Pokhriyal also said that the discussions are underway on reducing the JEE 2021 and NEET 2021 syllabus. There is a possibility that the pattern of the question paper may be tweaked for the entrance examinations. He went on to say that the revised syllabus and exam pattern for JEE, NEET 2021 exams will be released soon. Also, efforts are being made to avoid the entrance exams clash of CBSE Practical exams. Discussions are on about the level of questions that will be asked in the entrance tests, Pohriyal said, adding that questions should be in line with the CBSE’s reduced syllabus. The revised syllabus of CBSE Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations 2021 will soon be uploaded on the official website - cbse.nic.in. The minister said that the CBSE practical exam will be held at school level. “If we are not able to conduct practicals due to the ongoing pandemic, attempts will be made to find alternatives,” he added. Pokhriyal also said that his ministry is considering the suggestion to increase the number of attempts for JEE Main from two to three or four from the coming year.