At least two CBSE institutions are intending to push back their 2026 summer break by roughly 10 days to make room for the second phase of board exams, tentatively planned for the middle of May.

According to the principal of Birla High School, the board exams cannot be administered without teachers, and because this is regarded as a "significant holiday time", schools prefer not to compel teachers to sacrifice their vacation.

Birla High will close for the summer from May 25. The junior and middle schools will finish by May 15. Classes IX to XII will attend classes for another 10 days.

"We have got a draft timetable for the second board exam, which is not the final one, but we cannot wait for last-minute instructions because both parents and teachers will have to plan their holidays," said Loveleen Saigal, the principal.

"We have to put the academic calendar in the diary, which goes for printing, and so we have decided on this schedule," she said.

According to the tentative timetable released by CBSE, the second round of Class X boards is scheduled from May 15 to June 1.

The first Class X board exams, which are compulsory for all students, are scheduled from February 17 to March 10.

Mahadevi Birla World Academy is planning to schedule the summer vacation from May 25 for Classes VI onwards.

"We don't know till the first board exam is conducted as to how many students will write the second. But if teachers are there, we will be able to handle and conduct the board exam," said Saha.

In Bengal, schools in the past have had to close early for the summer because of the searing heat.

Some ICSE schools have in the past altered their session timings to be able to close early.

"It's a dichotomous situation because on one hand it becomes hot and on the other we have to conduct the exam," said a principal of a school on the southern fringes of the city.

In schools that are not tweaking their summer calendar, teachers are likely to lose out on a part of their vacation.

"The vacation for teachers will get shortened. We will have to make arrangements where teachers will be expected to report to duty for conducting the exam," said South Point principal Jaidev Ghosh.

The Newtown School will roll out an online form to understand which teachers have planned a holiday. "On that basis, we will have to allot duty to teachers," said principal Satabdi Bhattacharjee.

Like every year, a part of the summer vacation will be busy for teachers of Classes X and XII who are assigned evaluation duties.