Two Class 10 exams not to dilute process but reduce stress: Dharmendra Pradhan

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan maintained that the school education system is competent enough across the country to handle the two board examinations

Published on: Jun 10, 2025, 11:09:42 IST

By Sanjay Maurya

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Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has defended the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)’s plan to conduct Class 10 board exams twice annually from 2026, saying it will not dilute the process but reduce stress. He maintained that the school education system is competent enough across the country to handle the two examinations.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. (X)

“India has over 60 school boards, and there has never been any concern about their competency. The examination structure is not putting pressure on the education system. The decision to conduct board exams twice a year is not to dilute the process, but to reduce stress among students,” Pradhan said at ABP News education conclave on Monday.

Pradhan said that the National Testing Agency conducts the Joint Entrance Examination twice annually, allowing students to choose their best score. “Building on this idea, we are introducing a similar approach for Class 10 board exams. ...students will have the option to appear for the board exam twice a year and retain their best score. This move is recommended by experts...it is aimed at providing flexibility and reducing exam-related anxiety. Our school education system is competent enough to handle this reform across the country.”

A CBSE draft policy in February proposed Class 10 board exams twice in an academic year from 2026, in line with National Education Policy 2020 recommendations. It was made public on February 25, and March 9 was the deadline for feedback submission.

The policy said CBSE Class 10 board examination 2026 for 26,60,000 students in 84 subjects will be held in two phases in 34 days. The 18-day first phase will be from February 17 to March 6, and the 16-day second phase from May 5 to May 20.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Maurya
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.Read More

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