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CBSE Class 10 board exams twice a year from 2026 in big change for students
CBSE officials said that the second phase of exam, which will be scheduled in May, would be optional for students who wish to improve their performance.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday approved the norms for conducting board exams twice a year for Class 10, a move which is recommended in the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
This will allow Class 10 students to take the CBSE board exams twice in an academic session from 2026. However, it will be mandatory for them to appear for the first phase in February, officials said.
They added that the second phase, which will be scheduled in May, would be optional for students who wish to improve their performance.
CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj announced the approval and said, "The first phase will be conducted in February and second in May. The results for the two phases will be announced in April and June, respectively."
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“It will be mandatory (for students) to appear for the first phase while the second phase will be optional. Students will be allowed to improve their performance in any three subjects out of science, mathematics, social science and languages,” he added.
As per the approved norms, Class 10 students belonging to winter-bound schools will get an option to appear for the board exam in any of the two phases.
Meanwhile, the internal assessment for this grade of class will be conducted only once in an academic session.
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The draft norms, which were announced by the CBSE in February, were uploaded to the public domain for feedback from the stakeholders.
NEP 2020
Under the new NEP, several recommendations have been made with regard to Board exams.
NEP 2020 said that the existing system of Board and entrance examinations shall be reformed to eliminate the need for undertaking coaching classes. "To reverse these harmful effects of the current assessment system, Board exams will be redesigned to encourage holistic development; students will be able to choose many of the subjects in which they take Board exams, depending on their individualised interests," it states.
The new NEP also recommended that the "high-stakes" aspect of the board exams be eliminated, allowing all students to take the exams on up to two occasions during any given school year.
