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In keeping with the plan to conduct board exams twice a year, as recommended by the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE), the Government is considering scheduling a second Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exam for Class 12 students in June from 2026, The Indian Express has learnt.
Currently, a Class 12 student appears for the CBSE board exam in February-March. After the results are declared in May, she has the option to improve her performance in one subject through “supplementary exams” held in July. Students who have not cleared their papers and whose results have been declared as “compartment” can also sit for the “supplementary exams”. This year, for instance, “supplementary exams” for Class 12 were held on July 15.
However, the new National Education Policy, 2020, envisages moving away from high-stakes exams and proposes biannual board exams to provide students with more opportunities. In line with this, the Education Ministry has asked the CBSE to prepare a proposal for holding two board exams per year, to be implemented from 2026.
Although the government is yet to decide the final shape and form of the two-board exam system, one option on the table is for students to take a second set of exams in June, a source said. Instead of the current system where Class 12 students take “supplementary exams” for “improvement of performance” in only one subject, they would have the option to retake their exams in any or all subjects of their choice in June.
According to the source, CBSE would need around 15 days to conduct the second set of exams, and a month to declare the results under this option. So, the results of the second board exam would be announced in August.
Among other factors, the government is looking at the timing — the time needed to conduct the second board exams as well as the schedule for other entrance exams that students would have to take — and the evaluation load on teachers. With schools located in snowbound areas too, the first set of board exams — under the proposed two-board exam system — cannot begin earlier than it does now in February, the source said.
Currently, the government expects that not all students will opt to appear for all papers in the second board exam — at most, they may opt for two to three subjects. In such a scenario, the evaluation load of the second exam is likely to be around 4-5% of the evaluation load of the first exam, said sources. Initially, in the first year, the CBSE may offer students the option to appear for the second exam for “difficult” papers in June.
The National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023, which is based on the National Education Policy 2020, states that all students will be allowed to take board exams “on at least two occasions during any given school year, with only the best score being retained.”
“In the long term, being able to take a subject board examination immediately after the ‘school term’ (i.e., ‘semester-wise’ or ‘on-demand’ board examinations) will be made available,” NCFSE says. According to sources, holding a board exam at the end of each semester (or every six months) in an academic year is not feasible just yet for CBSE.
Earlier this year, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said that students will be given the option of appearing for Class 10 and 12 board exams twice a year from the 2025-26 academic session onwards. He had also announced last year that appearing for these exams twice a year would be optional, and the intention was to reduce stress.
