CBSE to conduct board exams twice a year? THIS is what is under consideration

After the recommendation by the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), the Central Board of Secondary Education is exploring when and how it can conduct two rounds of board examinations, PTI has reported.

At present, the Class 10 and Class 12 students take the CBSE board exams during February and March. The options the CBSE has are January-February, March-April and June. The board is also considering a semester system having biannual exams.

Some officials have revealed that the consultations on the matter are ongoing and no decision has been made yet on when and in which format the plan will be implemented.

“The three possible options that have been discussed is conducting the exams in a semester system, with the first board exam in January-February and the second one in March-April or conducting the second set of board exams in June with the supplementary or improvement exams,” an official said.

The official added that the semester system seems less feasible given India’s academic calendar along with  the schedule of competitive exams and geographical challenges that come with CBSE schools being all over India and abroad.

Challenges

The board has informed the Union Education Ministry that conducting the current system of board exams for Classes 10 and 12 involves over 150 steps.

“The process involves a minimum of 310 days, starting from filling of the list of candidates, centre notifications, release of roll numbers, conduct of practicals, theory exams, result declaration, verification and revaluation. At least 55 days are required to conduct the two exams,” the board has informed the ministry.

Now, the challenge before the board is how to carry out the same exercise for a second round.

“Conducting exams before February also has its own challenges because some states have difficult winters. Currently, the schedule of board exams begins around February 15, so dates have to be worked out accordingly to provide a considerable gap,” the official added.

They added that another option would be conducting the second set of exams in June along with supplementary or improvement exam. “However, none of these options are final. We are still brainstorming and widespread consultations are on. It is possible that more options would emerge during the process,” they further said.

The ministry initially planned to introduce biannual board exams in the 2024-25 academic session. However, this plan has been postponed by a year.

(With PTI inputs)