CBSE boards to clash with JEE main, students worried

CBSE boards to clash with JEE main, students worried

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  05.02.2021 

Thousands of Class XII CBSE students in the biology-maths group are worried their board exam will clash with Joint Entrance Exam (Main) in May. As per the date sheets released by the CBSE, biology exam will be held on May 24, while the final session of JEE (Main) is scheduled to be held from May 24 to 28 when more than five lakh students across the country are set to appear.

Students and teachers from Tamil Nadu want the National Testing Agency (NTA) to delay the start of the JEE (Main) final session to avoid a clash.

Ebi Manuel, a Class XII biology student and IIT aspirant from the city, said biology is a vast subject and students need to concentrate more on it. “It will affect only the biology-maths group students.”

Manuel, who has applied to all four sessions of JEE (Main), said the May session would be his last chance.

“I request the NTA to change the schedule for the last session to enable the students to prepare better for the biology exam.”

NTA is conducting JEE (Main) from February 23 to 26, March15 to18, April 27 to 30 and May 24 to 28. Since engineering admissions in Tamil Nadu are based on board exam marks, students in the state will give more importance to the session conducted after the board exams.

The CBSE has also scheduled the computer science board exam on May 29, a day after JEE (Main).

Kaushik, another student, said the clash should have been avoided as some students target the main exam after the board exams.

Many teachers echo this view. “Students are stressed about the schedule since both the exams are very tough and dates also are clashing,” said Sunitha Shine, a Class XII teacher from the city. Though the exams are conducted in four sessions all the four sessions are important, she added.

Trainers said students should be given a provision to change the date of the exam. “Even a single student should not be affected due to the scheduling. In case, a biology student gets an exam on May 24, he or she should be given the option to change the exam date,” said B Pavan Kumar, deputy director (Chennai) of coaching institute FIITJEE.

NTA officials said students who have exams on May 24 will not be given the slot on that day. “The roll numbers of CBSE students will be collected by May. Biology students will get an exam session other than May 24 so there won't be a clash,” an official said.

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