The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made a historic change in the 10th board examination system and announced that from the academic session 2026, the board will conduct examinations twice a year. The board's examination controller Sanyam Bhardwaj has given official information in this regard.
Exam will be held in two phases
Under the new system, the 10th board exam will be conducted in two phases.
First phase in February
Second phase in May
The first phase exam will be compulsory for all students. While the second phase exam will be optional and those students will be able to appear in it who want to improve their marks.
Syllabus will remain the same, center will also be one
The exam in both the phases will be based on the same syllabus and questions will be asked from the complete syllabus. The board has clarified that the examination centers will be the same in both the phases so that the students do not have to face frequent changes.
Fees for both the exams will have to be paid at the time of registration
According to CBSE, the examination fees for both the stages will have to be deposited at the time of registration for the exam. This will make the administrative process easier and students will not need to apply again and again.
The board will give an opportunity to improve marks
This effort of the board is to give the students an opportunity for self-evaluation. If a student appears for the examination in both the stages, the highest marks of that subject will be considered in the final result. For example, if 70 marks are obtained in the first examination in mathematics and 78 in the second, then only 78 marks will be included in the final result.
No second chance if more than three subjects are left
CBSE has also clarified that students will be able to appear in the second examination to improve their performance only up to three subjects. If a student is absent in three or more subjects in the first stage examination, he will not get an opportunity to appear in the second stage.
Possible exam dates announced
According to the draft schedule released by the board, the first examination can be held between February 17 and March 6, 2026. The second examination is likely between May 5 and May 20, 2026. The results of these examinations will be declared in April and June respectively.
Internal assessment will be done once a year
Under the new rules, internal assessment will be done only once a year. This assessment will be applicable for both the examinations, which will reduce the workload on the schools and maintain uniformity in the assessment.
Decision in line with the new education policy
This change is in line with the suggestions of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which aims to make board examinations less stressful and more flexible. Under the policy, it was recommended that students should get the opportunity to take board exams twice a year.
Special facility for winter-affected areas
CBSE said that students studying in winter-affected areas will be allowed to appear in any one phase of the examination so that weather constraints do not hinder their exam performance.
The draft rules were put on the public platform in February 2025 so that feedback could be taken from parents, students and teachers. It is only after extensive deliberations that CBSE has decided to implement this new system.
.png)
.png)
.png)
1.png)
14.png)
.png)
