No CBSE Board Exams till February 2021: Ramesh Pokhriyal

New Delhi, Dec 22: Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Tuesday confirmed that there would be no class 10 and 12 board exams will not be held in January-February.

During the webinar, the minister clarified that at the present situation, it was not possible to conduct examinations in the months of January and February 2021.

"Cancelling exams and promoting students without exam will put a stamp on these students. These students might face trouble in getting jobs and admissions at higher education level in future as they would be termed as COVID-era students. We do not want that for our students," the education minister said.

"Many countries have cancelled one entire academic year but our teachers continued to work hard and did not allow any candidate to waste their academic year. Teachers are no less than corona warriors for training 33 crore students across countries during this tough time," he said.

A decision on the exam schedule will be taken later after assessment of situation and more consultations," Nishank said in an online interaction with teachers.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had earlier this month announced that board exams in 2021 will be conducted in written mode and not online. Schools across the country were closed in March to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They were partially reopened in some states from October 15. However, a few states have decided to keep them closed in view of a spike in the number of infections. The board exams had to be postponed mid-way in March.

They were later cancelled, and results announced on the basis of an alternative assessment scheme.

The education minister had a live interaction with students on December 10 and answered questions about various concerns regarding the conduct of upcoming board exams.