CBSE to Conduct Class 10 Board Exams Twice a Year from 2026: New Norms Approved

CBSE to Conduct Class 10 Board Exams Twice a Year from 2026: Starting in 2026, students will take CBSE board exams for Class-10 level twice within an academic session, but they must take phase I is in February, provided by the students and the CBSE in a statement on Wednesday.

The students will be better able to improve their results if they want to take stage II, which happens in May. If a student demonstrates in stage I and then stage II, the better result would then be taken by the students' CBSE, officials stated.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has implemented the guidelines for implementing uncertainty twice a year for Class-10 level exams as recommended by the new National Education Policy (NEP).

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"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,” CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said.

"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.

Asked why phase I was mandatory, CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh said that it prevent the number of students not treating board exams as seriously and to keep some amount of professionalism and/or sanctity in the actual board exams.

"If a student does not appeared for three or more subjects in the first examination, he or she will not be allowed to appear for the second exam. Such students will be placed in the 'Essential Repeat' category and can take the examination only next year in the main exam in February," he said.

"Students whose result in the first examination is compartment will be allowed to appear in the second examination under the compartment category. Additional subjects will not be permitted after passing Class-10, students will not be allowed in stand-alone subjects," he added.

The guidelines allow for a timeframe where a student at a winter bound school can select and take the board exams in either of the two incarnations.

In some cases, students with sporting backgrounds were permitted to take in phase II only for subjects which interfered with their sporting activities.

Only once during an academic year would you have internal assessment taking place.

The CBSE released the draft norms in February, inviting input from the general public, including schools, teachers, parents, students, and stakeholders.

The draft norms also states that the two-phase examination will be optional, and students will be given the option of registering for either or both.

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In this new recommendation from NEP report, it was suggested that the high-stakes nature of the Board examinations we take will be eliminated. Instead, under this new recommendation, all students will be allowed to take the examination up to two times in any given academic year.

Both the examinations will occur on the full syllabus prescribed for the year and the scheme of studies and scheme of examinations will remain unchanged.

The Board has also stated that there would be no separate supplementary examinations, but the second session of the Board examinations will act as the supplementary examination for those who wish to try to improve their marks.

Currently, students remain able to improve their marks with supplementary examinations.

"Presently, students can improve scores in two subjects and the improvement exams are conducted in July, the results of which are announced in August.

"So, in the new setup, the second phase of exams will be conducted in May and the results will be declared in June. Also, students can attempt to improve their scores in three subjects instead of two," Bhardwaj said.

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