NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday approved draft norms for conducting Class 10 board exams twice a year from 2026, education ministry officials said.
The draft norms will now be put in the public domain, and stakeholders can submit their feedback by March 9, following which the policy will be finalised, officials added.
As per the draft norms, the first phase of the exams will be conducted from February 17 to March 6, while the second phase will be held from May 5 to 20.
According to a public notice issued by CBSE, “The National Education Policy 2020 has recommended that students will be given an opportunity to improve their performance in Board examinations. A meeting was organised in the Ministry of Education, chaired by the Minister of Education, wherein the following were discussed: In Class X, two board examinations to be conducted from 2025-26.”
It also said that a draft policy for the same has been developed. This draft policy will be hosted on the CBSE website to get responses from all stakeholders, i.e. schools, teachers, parents, students, and others (general public, etc.).
The draft policy has been developed after wider discussions and is available on the CBSE website.
Officials also said that both examinations will be conducted on the full syllabus and that candidates will be allotted the same examination centres in both editions.
“Exam fees will be enhanced and collected for both exams at the time of application filing," CBSE officials said.
“The first and second editions of the board exams will also act as supplementary exams, and no special exams will be conducted in any circumstances," they added.
The idea behind conducting Class X board exams twice a year is to reduce stress and allow students to improve their scores.