The Central Board of Secondary Education is preparing to implement the two board exam system for Class 10 students starting from the 2026 examination cycle. Under this system, all students will be required to take the first set of board exams and may later choose to reappear in up to three subjects from mathematics, science, social science and two language papers to improve their performance.
CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh stated during a webinar that the Board expects a maximum of about 40 percent of students to take the second board exam for each main subject. He also highlighted that the second exam will have a significantly reduced evaluation load compared to the first. According to the Board, the first exam typically involves the evaluation of around 1.5 crore answer books, while the second exam is expected to require the evaluation of only 20 to 30 lakh answer books. This reduction is expected to help the Board complete the evaluation process in time to release results by June 30.
The two board exam system is in alignment with the National Education Policy 2020, which recommends measures to lower the high-stakes nature of board examinations. Singh explained that the Board considered other options such as semester-based exams and any-time examinations but ruled them out due to logistical challenges, teacher workload and infrastructure limitations.
The second board exam will be offered only in subjects where external assessments account for more than 50 percent of the total evaluation. CBSE also clarified that the first exam will remain the main board exam and students must appear for at least three subjects in the first exam to be eligible for the improvement exam. This is intended to ensure that the first exam retains its significance and to prevent students from selectively appearing in exams across both cycles.
After the declaration of the first exam results, students will be allowed to register for the second exam, after which the Board will finalise the list of candidates.
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