BESIDES THE proposed schedule for the two board exams for Class 10 students from next year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday released draft norms, according to which students can opt to take the exam once or both times. If they choose the latter, they can “opt out” of subjects/ papers that they don’t want to take again.
According to the proposed schedule, the first phase of the Class 10 board exams will be held from February 17 to March 6, while the second will be held from May 5 to May 20. In both cases, the exam period has been compressed to 16-18 days, about half the current duration of 32 days.
This means students are likely to get only one or two days between two papers, depending on their subject choices — considerably shorter than the current intervals, which can extend up to five or even 10 days.
The results of the first exam are likely to be declared by April 20 and the second by June 30. Students who choose to appear for both exams will get their best score in the final marksheet.
The CBSE has sought public feedback on its proposal by March 9. Based on the suggestions received, it is likely to be reviewed and then finalised. “We want to finalise the plan before the new academic session begins for Class 10 students in April,” said a senior CBSE official.
Registration for the Class 10 board exam in 2026 will be completed by September this year, when students will have to indicate whether they want to appear for the first exam, both, or just the second exam.
After the results of the first exam are declared in April, only students who register in September for the second board exam will be allowed to take it, with the choice to “opt out” of subjects or papers that they don’t want to take again.
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“After the results of the first exam are released, and if you are happy with your Social Science, English and Mathematics marks, you can opt out of these papers for the second exam and just sit for the remaining subjects. The final score card will reflect the best scores,” said a source who did not want to be identified.
However, if a student has only registered for the second board exam, “no further examination will be conducted”.
The results of the first exam will be made available on DigiLocker, and students can use this for admission to Class 11 if they choose not to appear for the second exam. However, “passing documents” will not be issued after the first exam; they will only be issued after the results of the second exam are declared. Internal assessments will be conducted only once, according to the draft norms.
The CBSE’s proposal to conduct two board examinations in Class 10 is in line with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which states that to “eliminate the high stakes aspect of board exams, all students will be allowed to take board exams on up to two occasions during any given school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if desired.”
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The CBSE had been grappling with the challenge of scheduling two board exams in such a way that the next academic year is not affected.
According to the draft norms, the same exam centres will be fixed for both the exams. The exam fee will be enhanced and collected for both exams while registering.
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