'Doubles our pressure': Principals react to CBSE's proposal to hold two 10th Board exams
Students will get option to skip some subjects in the first board exam in February and attempt them in second exam in May, to be able to improve their scores
There is a mixed reaction from educationists over the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)'s new proposal to offer class 10 students the opportunity to appear for the Board exams twice from the academic year 2025-26.
In a major development, CBSE has proposed that 10th standard students can sit for the board exams either in February or in May, or also attempt both to get an opportunity to improve their scores.
The draft policy has been shared for public feedback and the board will accept responses from schools, teachers, parents, students and the public until March 9, 2025.
Under the proposed schedule, the exam period for both phases has been compressed to 16-18 days, which is half the current duration of 32 days.
Mixed reaction from educationists
Manila Carvalho, principal of Delhi Public School, Bengaluru East is unhappy with CBSE's new proposal. She is worried about the logisitics involved in holding two exams in one year. "The pressure will be on us to supply the teachers for invigilation and for correcting papers both the times," she told The Federal.
"Already, our teachers are so busy for nearly two months with the current exam in February, which goes on till April, if you take the practicals into account. They are also called for invigilation, so when will they get time to teach?" asked Carvalho, who felt the policy is not in sync with what happens on the ground.
Sandeep Pai S, school principal of a CBSE school and chairperson of a 470-member private organisation run by school principals, welcomed the two-exam system. "It reduces the number of exam days and also gives a chance for students to improve their scores. The current practice of a re-exam in September is too late for them," he said.
More importantly, according to Pai, this proposal seems to suggest that children need not compulsorily take the regional language as the third language. "I am a staunch Kannadiga but I don't want children to be forced to learn the regional language. Children who join schools in the 9th really struggle. So, if I have read the proposal correctly, they have extended the scope of the third language to include foreign languages as well. That is a positive sign," he said. However, how this will be recieved by the state government is another matter.
Carvalho, meanwhile, felt that if CBSE wants children to improve their scores in any paper, they should promote the central government run National Institute for Open Schooling.
"The NIOS provides a lot of flexibility in learning and giving exams for children taking the Board exams. I feel the CBSE should nudge children in that direction if students want to improve their scroes. My point is if they already have the NIOS in place, why complicate matters? Or, the CBSE should conduct a pilot project first and see how this two exam system operates on the ground and then implement it," suggested Carvalho.
The purpose
This two-phase examination system is to ease exam stress and give the chance for students to better their scores in the crucial 10th Board exam.
This move also seems to be aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which suggested reforms in board exams to minimise the dependence on coaching and introduce a better assessment system
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Exams in two phases
According to the draft policy, the first examination will be held from February 17 to March 6, while the second will be slated for May 5 until May 20. The exam fee will be collected for both exams during the initial registration process.
The syllabus for both exams will cover the entire syllabus with students taking both exams at the same exam centres.
Students will be given the option to skip subjects in the first examination phase and attempt to better their scores in subjects they may feel they are lacking in preparation for the second examination phase.
The second examination phase will be treated as a supplementary exam, so no more re-exams will be conducted.
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Registration for exams before September 2025
CBSE has said in the draft policy that the list of registered candidates (LoC) will be collected from September of the previous year. This means that students must apply for the board exams before September 2025, otherwise they will not be able to sit for either the February or May exam held in 2026.
Exam reattempts
Notably, students can skip subjects in the first examination phase in February and write exams only for some subjects. However, they must sit for the skipped subjects in the second examination phase in May. If a student attempts all subjects in February and opts for the exam in May, they must write all the subjects again.
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Practical exams and final marksheet
Practical exams and other internal assessments will be held once per academic year.
The final marksheet will be released after the May exams and will display scores from both the examination phases. The best mark for each subject will be highlighted.
