JEE-Mains, NEET 2021 August exams: BIG update from Education Ministry

Now that the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) Class 12 exams 2021 have been cancelled amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Ministry of Education will soon review the situation to decide on conducting the two remaining editions of engineering entrance exams JEE-Mains and medical entrance exam NEET in August.

"A review meeting is likely to be conducted soon to decide on the schedule of the pending editions of JEE-Mains and whether NEET-UG can be conducted on August 1," news agency PTI quoted a source as saying.

The JEE-Mains is being conducted four times a year from this session onwards to offer flexibility to students and a chance to improve their scores. The first phase in February was followed by the second in March, while the next phases were scheduled for April and May. However, they were postponed after the massive spike in COVID-19 cases during the second wave of the pandemic.

Last week, JEE-Advanced, which is conducted for admission to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology, was also postponed. The exam was scheduled for July 3.

No further decision was taken about NEET-UG and the registration of the exam which was supposed to commence from May 1, was kept in abeyance. The ministry is also yet to decide on the fate of the Central University Common Entrance Test (CUCET).