CBSE Class 12 Exam Datesheet 2021: New Schedule To Be Announced, Assessment Process Likely To Change

By Asmita Kundu

CBSE Class 12 exam dates and the CBSE exam format will be announced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on June 1, 2021. Students can check the CBSE 12th board exam dates at the official website, as soon as Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' announces the dates. According to a report by news agency PTI, CBSE has proposed to conduct the Class 12th board exams between July 15 and August 26 and the result would be declared in September, a source said.

Also Read: Class 12 Board Exam 2021: CBSE Releases Question Bank Online, Steps To Download

There will be no cancellations of the major entrance exams for undergraduate engineering (JEE Main) and medicine (NEET UG 2021). The NTA's official website will announce the JEE Main 2021 exam date as well as the NEET application form 2021.

Proposed Assessment Procedure For Class 12 Board Exam:

According to The Indian Express, CBSE has proposed to conduct the Class 12 Board examination only for major subjects. For Class 12 students, the Board offers 174 subjects, about 20 of which are considered major by the CBSE. Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology, History, Politics, Business Studies, Accountancy, Geography, Economics, and English are just a few of them.

A CBSE student must take at least five and no more than six subjects. Four of these are usually major subjects. According to some reports, the CBSE has put forward two options to the Education Ministry for conducting the major subjects during the board examinations.

These are scheduled to be discussed at a meeting of state Education Ministers and State Education Secretaries on Sunday, which will be presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Union Education Minister Ramesh Pohkriyal, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, and Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani are among the expected attendees.

The national board has proposed that examinations for the major subjects be held in the "existing format" and at designated examination centres under the first option. Furthermore, marks for minor subjects can be calculated based on performance in major subjects.

This option would take one month for pre-exam activities, two months for exam management and results announcement, and 45 days for compartment exams. According to The Indian Express, the first option can only be implemented if the Board has a three-month window. The CBSE has proposed that Class 12 students take the major subject exams in their own schools (home centres) rather than designated centres under the second format, which will take another 45 days.

The number of centres will have to be doubled to make this possible. The Board has also recommended that each examination could be one-and-a-half hours long rather than three hours long under the second format.

Only objective and short-answer questions should be included in the question papers. A Class 12 student will only appear for one language and three electives (read major) subjects in this scenario. The performance in the elective subjects will determine the marks for the fifth and sixth subjects.

If the Board chooses the second option, the exams will be divided into two parts. This phasing has been proposed to account for regional variations in the ongoing Covid situation. Exams will be conducted in the first phase in locations where the situation is favourable, and in the second phase in the remaining areas. The two phases will be separated by two weeks. Any student who won’t be able to appear in the Class 12th examination due to Covid will be given a second chance to do so.