The Central Board of Secondary Education has proposed two alternatives for conducting the postponed Class 12 board exams this year. A high profile virtual meeting attended by Union Ministers (including Education Minister) was conducted on Sunday where the proposal was evaluated. The exam can either be conducted for selected subjects in limited centres as per conventional policy. Or exams of shorter duration can be held in schools where students are enrolled.
CBSE recently postponed the Class 12, 2021 board exams on account of the COVID-19 pandemic situation in India. However, unlike the Class 10 Board exams which were totally cancelled, the Board decided to review situations and conduct the Class 12 board exams. As per reports, a final decision regarding this matter is to be taken by June 01, 2021.
CBSE OPTION A for Class 12 Exam 2021
CBSE proposed that regular Class 12 board examinations can be conducted in limited centres but only for major subjects this year. The key takeaways are pointed out below.
- Exam will be conducted in limited number of physical exam centres.
- The exam will be held only for limited subjects i.e. 19 major subjects.
- Merit in minor subjects will be determined on the basis of performance in major subjects.
- CBSE will required 1 month of pre-exam activity. In addition, the total process of conducting exams and releasing results will take another 2 months.
- Additional time of 1 month may be required for conducting compartmental exams.
- The proposed way of conducting the exam is only possible if there is three months of safe and available time.
- The exam is most likely to be held in July-August and the result will be released by September 2021 is this option is pursued.
CBSE OPTION B for Class 12 Exam 2021
In case three months of safe and available time is not feasible, then CBSE has a Plan B for conducting the Class 12 board exams this year. The key points of OPTION B are highlighted below.
- Instead of centres, students will take the class 12 board exam 2021 from their own schools.
- The exam will be conducted for 19 major subjects only.
- The duration of the exam will be reduced i.e. 90 minutes exam instead of 180 minutes exam.
- Candidates will be required to take the exam for one language subject and three elective subjects.
- The merit of candidates in the fifth and sixth subjects will be assessed on the basis of performance in the language and elective subjects.
- The question paper will consist of multiple-choice/short answer type questions only.
- The exam will be conducted in more than one phase based on situations.
