New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday announced the date sheet for the Class 10 and 12 board examinations, scheduled to be held from February 17 to April 9.
According to the schedule, the main board exams will run from February 17 to March 10 for Class 10 and from February 17 to April 9 for Class 12. (Representative photo)
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For the first time, the date sheets have been issued nearly 110 days before the start of the examinations, CBSE officials said.
“Students will be able to start their examination preparations well in advance, which will help them overcome examination anxiety and improve their performance in the examinations,” CBSE’s controller of examinations, Sanyam Bhardwaj, said in a letter to CBSE-affiliated schools.
Nearly 45 lakh students across 204 subjects from India and 26 countries abroad are expected to appear in the CBSE board examinations in 2026.
According to the schedule, the main board exams will run from February 17 to March 10 for Class 10 and from February 17 to April 9 for Class 12. The examinations will begin at 10.30 am.
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Bhardwaj said the date sheet has been designed to ensure a sufficient gap between two subjects commonly chosen by students in both classes. “It was prepared after analysing over 40,000 subject combinations to avoid any overlap of exams on the same day,” he said.
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Bhardwaj said the date sheet has been designed to ensure a sufficient gap between two subjects commonly chosen by students in both classes. “It was prepared after analysing over 40,000 subject combinations to avoid any overlap of exams on the same day,” he said.
He added that the schedule also takes into account the dates of major entrance exams such as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), with efforts made to complete board exams well in advance. “This will help students manage their time better for both board and entrance examinations,” he said.
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According to an earlier tentative schedule issued by CBSE on September 24, the second round of exams for Class 10 is scheduled from May 15 to June 1. The results of all exams will be announced by July 15, 2026.
In June, CBSE announced the implementation of its policy to conduct Class 10 board exams biannually starting from 2026, with the first mandatory exam in mid-February and an optional second exam in May for students aiming to improve their results in three subjects out of four – science, mathematics, social science, and languages. This reform aligns with recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasises reducing the ‘high-stakes’ nature of board exams.
Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.
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Home/India News/CBSE 2026 board exams from Feb 17 to April 9; date sheets out 110 days in advance
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