The Central Board of Secondary Education has approved the norms for conducting board exams twice a year for Class-10.
Students of Class 10 will get an opportunity to sit for board exams twice from academic year 2026-27 onwards, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) stated on Wednesday (June 25, 2025).
CBSE’s decision is in line with the National Education Policy 2020 recommendation that to further eliminate the ‘high stakes,’ aspect of Board Exams, all students be allowed to take Board Exams on up to two occasions during any given school year, one main exam and one for improvement, if desired.
Explained: CBSE proposal to conduct two Board exams a year for Class 10 students
The Central Board of Secondary Education or CBSE has prepared a draft policy to allow Class 10 students to take their board exams twice starting from 2026. | Video Credit: The Hindu
Rahul Singh, CBSE Chairman said, “While it is mandatory for students to appear in the first board examination which will be conducted in mid-February, all students who pass the first board examination and are eligible will be allowed to improve their performance in any of the three subjects out of Science, Mathematics, Social Science and two language papers. The second exam is purely optional and additional in nature.”
Second exam optional
Officials stated that results of the mandatory first examination will be declared in the month of April. “The second exam [which will be the improvement exam] will be conducted in the month of May and its results will be declared in June. Students can choose to sit for the improvement exam after reviewing their scores in the first exam,” Dr. Sanyam Bhardwaj, Controller of Examinations, CBSE explained.
CBSE officials stated that since 2019 the national board has been offering an opportunity for students to write an improvement exam for any two subjects (including vocational subjects like singing and so on). However, in the new scheme proposed by CBSE, students can sit for an improvement exam only in three of the aforementioned academic subjects. “When we analysed the results database, we realised that students were already scoring decent marks in vocational subjects, and a need was felt for offering improvement exams in academic subjects. Offering an improvement exam in up to three subjects will offer students a 60 per cent opportunity to enhance their scores,” Dr Bhardwaj added.
Officials also said that if a student has not appeared in three or more subjects in the first mandatory board exam, then s/he will not be allowed to appear in the second (improvement examination).
“This is to ensure that students do not go opportunity shopping and take the first mandatory board exam seriously,” Mr. Singh emphasised.
Dr Bhardwaj told The Hindu that those students who do not appear or fail in three or more subjects will be placed in the ‘Essential Repeat,’ category and can take the main exam only in the next academic year. “Whereas, for students who do not appear or fail in one or two subjects will be placed in the Compartment category and will be allowed to appear in the second [improvement)] examination,” he said.
Officials also said that CBSE students get three attempts to clear ‘Compartment,’ status. “For the academic year of 2025-26, compartment exams will happen as usual in July and results will be declared in August. However, from 2026-27 onwards, the first compartment attempt exam will be merged with the newly proposed the second exam (improvement exam) and will occur earlier in June. There will be no more exams in July,” Mr. Singh explained.
For Compartment students the second attempt will coincide with the ensuing year’s main board exam, and their third attempt will yet again coincide with that year’s improvement exam schedule.
Mr. Bhardwaj also said that students who have passed by replacement of the subject, but want to improve their performance in the subject in which they did not pass will be given an opportunity to sit in the second improvement exam. “For instance, if a student did not pass in Maths, and passed by appearing for a replacement subject, s/he will get an opportunity to pass in Maths too, if it is mandatory for the student to show passing marks in Maths for pursuing higher studies,” he explained.
