CBSE will conduct the Class 10th board exams twice a year from 2026. The first exam will be compulsory in February. The second will be in May, in which students can improve a maximum of three subjects.
CBSE Double Exam Policy: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made a major change in the board exam system for Class 10th from the year 2026. Now, this exam will be conducted twice a year. This change will provide students with an additional opportunity to improve their performance. This system is currently being implemented for Class 10th only.
First Exam Compulsory, Second Optional
According to the new CBSE system, the first board exam will be held in mid-February every year, and it will be compulsory for all students to appear. The second exam will be held in the month of May, which will be optional. The second exam will be only for those students who have appeared for the first exam and want to improve their performance.
Opportunity to Improve Performance in Only Three Subjects
In the second board exam, students can improve their scores by taking exams in a maximum of three subjects. These subjects can be any of Mathematics, Science, Social Science, and Languages. No student will be able to take the second exam without appearing for the first exam.
Best Performance to be Included in the Final Result
The best score obtained in either of the two exams will be included in the final result. This will reduce psychological pressure on students and they will be able to perform better according to their abilities.
Special Conditions That Must Be Followed
- The first exam is compulsory for all students.
- The second exam is only for those students who have appeared for the first exam.
- Students can appear for a maximum of three subjects in the second exam.
- If a student does not appear for three or more subjects in the first exam, then they will not be eligible to take the second exam.
- Students who are unable to appear for both exams will have to appear for the exam the following year.
Difference Between Improvement and Compartment
In this new system, students will get an opportunity to retake the exam for improvement, but their marks will not be shown separately now. The final result will be declared by the end of June, and only the best marks will be recorded in the mark sheet. This will provide students with a clear and better result.
Schools' Reactions
Many school principals and coordinators have given their reactions to this decision of CBSE.
Sangeeta Kashyap, the principal of Radha Govind Public School, said that this system is better than compartment because it gives students an opportunity to improve beforehand. Veenu Agarwal, the principal of Meerut City Public School, said that there were some doubts initially, but now the situation is clear, and the school is ready to implement this decision.
Rashmi Mishra, the principal of Satyakam International School, said that schools will need timely guidance, training, and resources for this change. Meanwhile, Gopal Dixit, the Deputy City Coordinator of CBSE, said that the exam time will remain the same, so there will be no disruption in the syllabus.
Exam Dates and Registration Process
The first board exam will be held between February 17th and March 6th. The second board exam will be conducted between May 5th and May 20th. The syllabus will be the same for both exams, and the exam centers will also remain the same. Students will only have to pay the registration fee before the first exam. Internal assessment will also be done only once.
