New date for JEE Main to be announced on Mar 31: Amit Khare

CBSE, NIOS, and University examinations are rescheduled and postponed till March 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 ANI 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.