E-Paper
CBSE to give Class 10 students option for second attempt at exams
CBSE will hold mandatory Class 10 board exams in February 2026, with an optional retake in May. Students can improve scores in three subjects.
Class 10 students will have to mandatorily appear for board examinations in February but those who wish to improve their scores will have the option of taking it a second time in May, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced on Wednesday.
The new regime of two tests will kick in from 2026, the board announced. The first round of examinations will be held in mid-February with results in April; the second round in May will be optional with results in June. The final score for a student will be the best of the two attempts, the board in a press statement on Wednesday.
Students can seek a re-do only in three subjects out of science, mathematics, social science and languages, the board added.
At least 30,500 schools across India are registered with CBSE. Over 2.6 million students are expected to register for the Class 10 board examinations next year.
The development was welcomed by Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. “Laudable and a much-needed step. This will reduce exam stress, provide more flexibility and foster a joyful learning environment. A key recommendation of NEP 2020, twice-a-year exams is a student-centric approach and also aligns with global education practices,” Pradhan said in a post on X.
Explaining the rationale behind making the first phase mandatory for the students, CBSE chairman Rahul Singh said it was being done to ensure that students take the exams seriously and the sanctity of the board exams is maintained.
Singh said that if a student skipped three or more subjects in the February examination, she would not be allowed to sit for the May examination, and will have to repeat the year. Similarly, if a student’s score in the February exam places her in compartment — a student who scores less than 33 marks out of 100 in one subject is declared failed in that subject — she’ll be able to appear in the May exam under the compartment category only.
The CBSE’s February 25 draft proposed biannual exams for all 84 Class 10 subjects, but the final policy limited the options to three. “Students will be allowed to improve their performance in any three subjects out of science, mathematics, social science and languages,” CBSE examination controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said.
Both the examinations will be conducted on the full syllabus meant for the entire year and the scheme of examinations will remain the same. Internal assessment will be conducted only once before the main examinations, CBSE said in a statement.
The CBSE announced the draft norms in February, which were put in the public domain for stakeholders’ feedback, including from schools, teachers, parents, students and the public. The draft norms at the time said the two phases will be optional and students will get the choice to either appear for both, or any of the two. This was changed in the final policy announced on Wednesday.
The board received over 150,000 responses till March 9, Bhardwaj said. “We received feedback in an online format. The feedback shows that a majority of 64.4% students across the country favored having two board exams in a year. The teachers were a little bit reluctant about examinations in May due to excessive hot weather and showed concerns about summer vacations. We have informed the teachers that we will ensure that we finish the examinations on time,” he said.
“The CBSE received feedback that students primarily seek improvement in science, social science, and mathematics, as they typically score higher in other subjects and see no need to retake those exams. We added the option of sitting for examination of languages subjects too,” he added.
The NEP 2020 recommended that to eliminate the “high-stakes” aspect of the board exams, all students will be allowed to take the exams on up to two occasions during any given school year.
The policy reform drew mixed reactions.
“CBSE’s decision to hold Grade 10 board exams twice a year is a bold step and takes the pressure off students, gives them a second shot to do better, and builds their confidence. The optional May exam is a great way to support learners in reaching their potential. However, pulling this off smoothly will need careful planning to manage schedules and resources so that the purpose is achieved,” said Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu Public School, Delhi.
Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka, said that the new policy will compromise learning days and affect the smooth functioning of school.
“Conducting CBSE Class 10 exams from February to June will strain teachers with exam and evaluation duties, disrupting the school’s academic calendar and compromising their summer vacation, potentially affecting their mental health. Allowing score improvement in three subjects may lead to student complacency and increased anxiety from prolonged exam preparation, despite the intended flexibility,” she said.
According to CBSE, while sports students will be allowed to appear in the second examinations in the subjects whose examinations have coincided with their sports event, the winter bound schools’ students may choose to appear either in first examinations or second examinations in offered subjects.
CBSE has said that filing of List of Candidates (LOC) – a mandatory process for schools to register eligible students for board examinations – in the first examination will be compulsory. “LOC for the second examinations will be filled in separately. However, no new names will be added to the LOC of the second examination,” CBSE said.
