JEE Main April 2020 revised dates to be announced on March 31: Amit Khare

ANI | Mar 19, 2020, 10.03 AM IST

NEW DELHI: CBSE, NIOS, and University examinations are rescheduled and postponed till M arch 31 in view of coronavirus outbreak, Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development has said, adding that the new date for JEE Main exam will be announced on the same day after assessing the situation.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on Wednesday directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and all educational institutions in the country to postpone all exams including JEE Main till March 31 in view of coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking to on Wednesday, Khare said that the academic calendar and safety and security of the children, both are equally important.

"We have decided that all examinations - CBSE, NIOS, and University exams are rescheduled and postponed till March 31. Similarly, the evaluation work is also postponed this March 31 because there are certain competitive exams like JEE Main where students have to travel to different centres... New date for JEE Main exam will be announced on 31st March, after assessing the situation," Khare said.

"At the same time, the Ministry will take all steps and we have requested all the universities, schools to contact the children, keep them well informed of the developments so that not only they are safe, there is no anxiety amongst the students and their parents and the teachers. We have also requested all of them to make maximum use of online courses so that the learning is not lost," he added.

The Ministry has requested all teachers and educational institutes to maintain regular communication with students and resolve their queries. It has also appealed to parents, students, and teachers not to panic.

A total of 151 positive cases of coronavirus have been reported in India so far, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday. Three people have so far died of the infection in the country.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. The virus had first emerged in China's Wuhan city in December last year.

Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Centre postpones ongoing exams, including Boards

TIMES NEWS NETWORK | New Delhi:

As further precautionary measures due to the Covid-19 breakout, the HRD ministry on Wednesday said that all ongoing exams, including board exams, are to be rescheduled.

Following HRD ministry’s directions, CBSE postponed all exams between March 19 and 31. A new schedule is likely to be announced on March 31. Most class X CBSE students in Mumbai have completed their exams on Wednesday. However, many class XII students, especially from commerce stream have papers lined up to March 30. A CBSE school principal said, “While a lot of vacation plans and preparation for entrance exams for the next month will be impacted, it is in the best interest of the children’s safety to cancel the exams.

The step will have a cascading effect as the NIOS exam has been postponed and JEE (Main) too is likely to be rescheduled. As per the directions issued by HRD secretary Amit Khare, university exams will also be postponed.

Consequently, college/ university admissions are likely to be delayed.The CBSE notification stated that ongoing evaluation process has been put on hold and will be rescheduled after March 31.

Full report on www.toi.in

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Class X exams held with sanitizers at hand

— Vinamrata Borwankar

Mumbai:

On Wednesday, amid Covid-19 worries, schools conducted SSC and CBSE Class X exams on campus. Authorities said utmost care was taken to ensure students and teachers were not at risk.

While the state cancelled all school and college exams till March 31, they allowed schools to continue with Class X and XII board exams.

Over 3.6 lakh SSC students appeared for Science II paper from Mumbai division, which includes Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad. “We had sent out instructions to all exam centres to allow the use of sanitizers and take as many precautions as necessary. In case students wanted to wear masks, they were allowed to do so. We also provided sanitizers during moderators’ meetings. For the next two exams, similar precautions would be taken,” said Sandeep Sangave, secretary of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education's Mumbai division. While HSC exams ended on Wednesday, SSC students have two more papers to appear for.

Class X CBSE students took social science paper. Madhu Singh, principal, Billabong High International School at Malad, said, “We are educating our invigilators to keep a vigil on the health of kids and identify students showing symptoms. Teachers were oriented about symptoms by a certified doctor. We kept only 12 kids in a room and the distance between each kid was a minimum of one metre.”

CISCE issued an advisory to teachers to evaluate board exam papers from home.

Source : https://epaper.timesgroup.com

CBSE board results to be declared on time

Mon Mar 16 2020

CBSE board results to be declared on time

Coronavirus outbreak and Delhi riots will not disrupt the evaluation process of answer sheets and announcement of results

c-Jagriti.Kumari@timesgroup.com

Despite rescheduling of board examination timetable due to violence in parts of Delhi, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is hoping to declare class X and XII results on time. CBSE is taking every step to be on time to avoid inconvenience to the students and hampering their chances of securing admission in undergraduate programmes.

“The board officials are working hard to conclude the exams on time. The evaluation process will begin soon after the examinations are over to ensure timely announcement of the results,” says Sanyam Bhardwaj, controller of examinations, CBSE.

“The board is coordinating with schools to arrange centres and avoid any clash with any other examinations,” Bhardwaj adds. He, however, refused to divulge other details related to the exams.

The exams in the affected areas of Delhi for class XII will begin on March 31 and conclude on April 14, while exams for class X will be conducted from March 21-30. The new schedule has been announced for the students in the violence-hit areas of northeast Delhi.

Since 1929, this is for the first time that the board has rescheduled the exams dates. “The board will have an exact number of students who appear in the extended schedule by March 16,” he adds.

Global outbreak of coronavirus has not changed the evaluation dates scheduled for the CBSE teachers. “There may be some changes in the CBSE schools in middle east that are temporarily closed. We do not have any confirmation on that,” adds Bharadwaj. More than 220 schools in 25 foreign countries – including 78 in the UAE are affiliated to CBSE. Despite the closure of schools in affected countries, the board has been able to conduct examinations scheduled until March 12.

Source : https://epaper.timesgroup.com

CBSE may seat only 12 students in an exam room

CBSE may seat only 12 students in an exam room

By: Abhishek.Choudhari@timesgroup.com 

Nagpur:

In its ongoing effort to keep board exam candidates safe from coronavirus, CBSE is preparing to rejig its exam room seating pattern in a major way.

Sources told TOI that the number of students in a room may be restricted to only 12 from the current cap of 24. This change is going to be put into effect for exams scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

According to the plan, a minimum distance of one metre has to be kept between two candidates. Only one invigilator will be appointed for one room of 12 candidates.

As per sources, the schools have already been informed to get plan going. The schools have been told to “treat this message as urgent” and start work of preparing seating arrangements in the hall. Though the message came late in the evening, schools were not complaining. A teacher said, “We understand that the coronavirus situation is fast developing. So, this sudden announcements are expected. Yes, it’s a logistical challenge but the shutdown announced by Maharashtra government will help us a lot because there won’t be any distraction for schools.”

Source : https://epaper.timesgroup.com

CBSE delivers googly to Class XII physics, accountancy students

CBSE said the board has a practice of sending ‘Observation Schedules’ to all school heads to share their feedback on the question papers.

Published: 07th March 2020

KOCHI: Across the country, examination fever has the entire student community in its grip, with students of Classes XII and X of nearly all the boards engaged in last-minute preparations for the crucial tests. But as has been the case throughout, this year too the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has given students a fright. The students found the Class XII physics and accountancy papers quite difficult.

“Only students, who are bright or extraordinary, might have been able to crack the exam. Though based on the syllabus, the questions were very difficult to comprehend, especially for a 17-year-old,” said Suchitra A C, physics teacher of Greets Public School.

She said the average and above-average students could have never been able to answer the questions during the three-hour paper in the tense atmosphere of an examination hall. “Of course, if the students were asked the same questions in a different scenario, they might have solved it,” she said.

If students found the physics paper tough, with nearly all the questions at application level, those who appeared for accountancy  laboured to complete the paper. “It was very lengthy,” said Priya Fazil, mother of a Class XII Commerce student. She said the short-answer questions took up the time usually given to  questions which carry five  or 10 marks . “Three hours were a very short time frame for an Accountancy paper,” she said.

Pointing out that the issue is the same across the nation, T P M Ibrahim Khan, president, Kerala CBSE Schools Management Association, said, “The association has sought a report from all the schools. Based on it, we will send a complaint to the board and ask them to make the valuation liberal.”

The Council of CBSE Schools Kerala too has taken up the issue with the board. Indira Rajan, secretary-general, National Council of CBSE Schools, said the council has already sent a letter to the board in this regard.

“We received a report on the question papers from schools following a thorough analysis by  teachers. Based on it, we have asked the board to take action in students’ interest,” she said.

CBSE said the board has a practice of sending ‘Observation Schedules’ to all school heads to share their feedback on the question papers. “The feedback is examined by subject experts for its merits before finalising the marking scheme. The board will take similar action in all such cases,” the  CBSE said in a release.

Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com

JEE Advanced 2020: Girls to have 20% supernumerary seats reserved at IITs

JEE Advanced 2020: Last year, the reservation was at 17 per cent and 14 per cent in 2018. These seats are in addition to the available seats and a separate merit list will also be released for females.

By: Education Desk | New Delhi | Updated: March 9, 2020

JEE Advanced 2020: There’s good news for females aspiring to study at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Instead of the prevailing 20 per cent reservation for women, the IITs will now make seats supernumerary in nature. This implies that additional seats will be created without any effect on those available otherwise. A separate merit list will also be created for females to allow them to have the flexibility of choosing a better campus.

Last year, the reservation was at 17 per cent and 14 per cent in 2018. These additional reserved seats were the recommendation of a committee headed by Timothy A Gonsalves, Director, IIT Mandi. The committee addressed several issues including the fact that the rate of qualifying IITs is lesser in girls as compared to boys, females further tend to take a seat closer to home rather than an IIT in a far-flung area. A girl is yet to top the JEE Advanced or entrance test of IITs.

 Further, IITs have created 10 per cent supernumerary seats for students belonging to foreign nations. Additionally, over 1100 seats are reserved for foreign students across courses and campuses. Foreign nationals are not required to clear JEE Main. However, for Indian students, only top 2.5 rank holders from JEE Main are allowed to appear for JEE Advanced. Yet, the number of foreign students in IITs remain low. In 2018, only 51 foreign students registered for the exam and 36 students appeared for JEE Advanced.

Apart from these, there is 15 per cent reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7.5 per cent for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates in every course. Persons with Disability (PwD) also get 5 per cent seats reserved at IITs.

Source :  www.indianexpress.com

ISRO Young Scientist Programme YUVIKA 2020: Registration date extended

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has extended the last date to register for its Young scientist programme 2020 by 10 days.

Nilesh Mathur | Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Feb 24, 2020

   

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has extended the last date to register for its Young scientist programme 2020 by 10 days. In a Twitter message released on Sunday, ISRO informed about the extension of date for registration saying that it was being done to have greater participation.

The application process for Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Young scientist programme 2020 began on February 3, 2020 and students were asked to apply by 6pm on February 24. However, aspirants have now been given 10 more days to apply for the programme.

In the tweet informing about the extension of registration date, ISRO also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his encouraging words about YUva VIgyani KAryakram (Yuvika) Programme. PM Modi had lauded the ISRO YUVIKA 2020 in the latest Mann Ki Baath edition.

The Young scientist programme is aimed at imparting basic knowledge about Space Technology, Space Science and Space applications to the younger ones with the intent of arousing their interest in the emerging areas of Space activities.

The programme will be for two weeks duration, during the summer holidays, i.e. from May 11 to 22, 2020.

ISRO will be selecting three students from each state and union territories for the programme, who will later get lectures by ISRO scientists and will also get access to the space agency’s laboratories.

Students who have completed their 8th standard and are currently pursuing 9th grade can apply for the programme. Students should be from CBSE, ICSE or any other state board that is recognized by the Government of India. The selection is based on the 8th Standard academic performance and extracurricular activities. 

Check details below:

Note: Interested students should visit isro.gov.in to check details before applying.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com

Council passes bill to make Marathi must in all schools

MUMBAI | Feb 26, 2020 | HT Correspondent

Marathi is all set to become a compulsory language in schools across all boards in Maharashtra, as the legislative Council unanimously passed a bill on it on Wednesday.

This means Marathi will become mandatory in all Central board schools, including Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) too.

The bill makes it compulsory for all schools in Maharashtra teaching students in Hindi, English and other regional languages to have Marathi in its curriculum for students from Class 1 to 10. Anyone defying this law will have to pay a fine of ₹1 lakh.

Marathi will be introduced in Class 1 and 6 from the coming academic year (2020-21) in a phased manner. Anyone who is currently studying in Class 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 will not be affected.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray made the speech in the Council, calling himself fortunate to table such a bill during his tenure. “It was imperative for my generation to preserve this language for the future generation. Marathi has a glorious history, tradition and culture and the time has come to embrace it,” said Thackeray. “My sons went to English-medium schools, but speak excellent Marathi.”

The bill has been drafted along the lines of enactments made by southern states namely Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, which have made regional languages compulsory.

The bill stated that many schools tend to keep Marathi as an optional subject, while some minority schools do not teach Marathi at all. Hence this bill was tabled to correct the anomaly.

It will now be presented before the Assembly and after its passage in the lower house, will be sent to the Governor for his assent. Following this, a notification will be issued to make it a law.

Opposition leader in the legislative council Pravin Darekar said, “We should crack down on schools not following this order and there should be no compromise on adopting the language.”

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/

CBSE 10th English Question Paper 2020

TOI-Online | Feb 26, 2020, 02.34 PM IST

CBSE 10th English Question Paper 2020CBSE 10th English Question Paper 2020

CBSE Class 10 English (Language and Literature - Subject Code 184) Examination 2019-20 was conducted on February 26, 2020. The annual board examination question paper of Class 10 English subject was of 80 marks, with a duration of three hours. There was an internal assessment for 20 Marks. The main exam question paper of 10th English subject was divided into three sections - Reading, Writing with Grammar, and Literature.

Section-wise Weightage

Section A - Reading Skills - 20 marks

Section B - Writing Skills with Grammar - 30 marks

Section C - Literature Textbook and Supplementary Reading Text - 30 marks

Section A - Reading Skills

The section A had two reading passages

1) A Factual passage 300-350 words with eight Objective Type Questions - 8 marks

2) A Discursive passages of 350-400 words with four Short Answer Type Questions to test inference, evaluation and analysis four Objective Type Questions (including Multiple Choice Questions) to test vocabulary - 12 marks

Section B - Writing and Grammar

This section had internal choice for every question and the type of questions asked included

1) Writing an Article/Descriptive Paragraph (person/place/event/diary entry) in about 100-150 words based on visual or verbal cue/s. The questions were thematically based on the prescribed books - 8 marks

2) Writing a short story based on a given outline or cue/s in about 150-200 words - 10 marks

3) Questions from Grammar syllabus

Gap filling with one or two words to test Prepositions, Articles, Conjunctions and Tenses - 4 marks

Editing or omission - 4 marks

Sentences reordering or sentence transformation in context - 4 marks

Section C - Literature Textbooks

This section had internal choice for every question and the type of questions asked included

1) One out of two extracts from prose/poetry/play for reference to the context. Four Objective Type Questions: two questions of one mark each on global comprehension and two questions of one mark each on interpretation - (1x4=4 marks)

2) Five Short Answer Type Questions from BEEHIVE AND MOMENTS (3 questions out of four from BEEHIVE and 2 questions out of three from MOMENTS) to test local and global comprehension of theme and ideas (to be answered in 30-40 words each) - (2x5=10 marks)

3) One out two long answer type questions from the book BEEHIVE to assess creativity, imagination and extrapolation beyond the text and across the texts. (to be answered in 100-150 words each) - 8 marks

4) One out of two Long Answer Questions from the book MOMENTS on theme or plot involving interpretation, extrapolation beyond the text and inference or character sketch in about (100-150 words) - 8 marks

Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com