The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has proposed conducting Class 10 board exams twice a year starting from the 2025-26 academic session. This plan, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, aims to provide students with an opportunity to improve their performance. However, the proposal is still under review, and feedback from stakeholders has been invited before finalising the policy.
As per the official press release, “The National Education Policy, 2020 has recommended that students will be given an opportunity to improve their performance in Board examinations. A meeting was organized in the Ministry of Education chaired by Hon'ble Minister of Education wherein it was discussed that in Class X, two Board examinations be conducted from 2025-2026 and a draft Policy for the same be developed and hosted on CBSE Website for getting responses from all stakeholders, i.e. schools, teachers, parents, students and others (General Public etc.).
Accordingly, after wider discussions, the draft Policy has been developed and hosted on CBSE website- https://www.cbse.gov.in. Stakeholders may respond to the Draft Policy by 09.03.2025. The responses would be scrutinized and policy finalized subsequently.”
The proposed system seeks to reduce the high-pressure nature of board exams and allow students to appear twice in an academic year.
“To further 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,” the statement reads.
CBSE has invited students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders to submit their feedback on the proposal via its official website by March 9, 2025.
Proposed Exam Schedule for 2026
According to the draft, if implemented, the Class 10 board exams would be conducted in two phases:
Both exams would be based on the full syllabus and prescribed textbooks.
Current Exam Schedule for 2025
For the 2025 academic session, CBSE is conducting board exams as per the existing system:
The proposal is part of broader educational reforms under the NEP 2020, which includes curriculum changes and the introduction of the National Credit Framework across various levels of education.