The Union Education Ministry has instructed the Central Board of Secondary Education or CBSE to devise a plan for conducting board exams twice a year starting from the 2025-26 academic session, revealed sources.
Contrary to earlier speculation, the plan does not include the introduction of a semester system. Instead, the focus will be on organising board exams twice annually to provide students with more opportunities to excel.
The Ministry and CBSE are slated to engage in discussions with school principals next month to outline the logistics for implementing biannual board exams. CBSE is currently in the process of devising strategies to integrate this new examination schedule into the academic calendar without disrupting the undergraduate admission timeline.
A source elaborated, “The Ministry has tasked the CBSE with developing a framework for conducting board exams twice a year. The board is actively working on the details, and consultations will be held with school principals in the coming month.”
The proposed plan aims to introduce two editions of board exams annually, commencing from the 2025-26 academic session. However, specific modalities are still under consideration, with a focus on optimizing student performance without the implementation of a semester system.
Last year, the Education Ministry announced the New Curriculum Framework (NCF), which outlined the shift to biannual board exams. This move is aimed at providing students with ample time and opportunities to achieve their best performance and retain their highest scores.
