JEE-Mains to be held four times in 2021: Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal

Union Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ announced that the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE - Mains) will be held four times starting February 2021.

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New Delhi: In a major announcement on Thursday, the Union Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said that the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE - Mains) will be held four times starting February 2021. 

He informed during an online interaction with teachers, parents and students on board exams and competitive exams. Usually JEE-Mains are held twice a year.

"The suggestion of Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Main 2021 to be held four times in a year will be examined positively, beginning in the end of February, thereafter in March, April and May-2021, for three to four days during each time," the minister said in a live interaction with students, teachers and parents.

The idea to conduct the exams four times from next year is to ensure that the candidates do not miss out on opportunities due to clash of examinations or in wake of the COVID-19 situation, the minister Pokhriyal said.

Further, Pokhriyal ruled out any reduction in syllabus for engineering entrance exam JEE-Main or medical entrance exam NEET.

"The syllabus for JEE (Main 2021) will remain same as the previous year and a proposal is under examination where students will be given choice to answer 75 questions (25 questions each in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics) out of 90 questions (30 questions each in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics)," he said.

Regarding the class 10 and 12 board exams, the minister said the consultations with stakeholders are in progress for deciding the dates of board examinations and it will be announced soon based on the feedback from the stakeholders.

"The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is yet to take a decision on the dates of conducting board examinations including practical. In case students are not able to do practical in classes before the examinations, alternatives to practical examinations will be explored," he said.

The board exams that were being conducted in March had to be postponed mid-way in view of the coronavirus situation. The exams were later cancelled, and the results were announced on the basis of an alternative assessment scheme.

Competitive exams like JEE and NEET were also postponed twice this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There have been demands for postponement of board exams to May in view of the continued closure of schools and teaching-learning activities being completely online.