CBSE Class 10 board exams twice a year ‘relief’ or ‘burden’? Parents, schools share mixed views

Will CBSE’s decision to hold Class 10 board exams twice a year from 2026 be a relief or pressure on students? Parents, school principals, and the general public have mixed opinions. While some called the move a ‘waste of time’ and ‘burden’ on both students and parents, others termed it one of the greatest initiatives taken by the central board.

The Central Board of Secondary Education on June 25 gave a green signal to bi-annual exams for high school students, after considering the feedback on draft policy released in February.

More than 60% of students are okay with writing CBSE board exams 2026 two times, the board claimed, and went ahead with the popular opinion despite reluctance from the teachers who might end up doing double the work. Acknowledging the board’s intention to provide chances to students, schools have pointed out areas requiring better planning.

With the introduction of two-board exam scheme, which have been on and off the cards for long, CBSE aims to provide greater flexibility to the candidates and a chance to improve their scores. Phase 2 is completely optional with the second set of exams being especially for improvement, controller Sanyam Bhardwaj clarified.

Schools worry about academic calendar, workload

In a positive response, Deepti Vohra, principal of Delhi Public School in RK Puram, said the initiative could help shift focus from rote learning to a more application-based and continuous learning process. "This is a progressive step and has the potential to reduce exam-related anxiety. It aligns well with the NEP's vision of a flexible and student-centric assessment framework," she said. Detailed adjustments in academic planning and infrastructure readiness will help in successful implementation of the scheme, she added.

On the other hand, some schools expressed concerns regarding the academic calendar and workload management. Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL Public School in Dwarka, said, "While the flexibility is welcome, conducting exams over an extended period from February to June may require a revisit at how schools plan teaching and assessments during that time." She hinted towards additional support to maintain the balance between examinations and classroom learning.

Also read CBSE adopts new re-evaluation process, split Class 10 science question papers; will test on-screen marking

Sharing a similar view, Mallika Premanand, principal of Tagore International School in Vasant Kunj said, "The idea offers students a second chance to perform better, which is encouraging. However, schools would benefit from further clarity on how this will align with admissions to Class 11 and the overall academic schedule," she said.

CBSE second exam 'not an opportunity’

According to many, the CBSE second attempt will only lead to an unnecessary stress on the students and it has been suggested that the central board can introduce a semester system instead to nullify the load. “Even if students do well in the first exam, parents will push them to retake just for better marks, leading to unnecessary stress,” thinks a techie.

Another person raised concerns about holding board exams twice for the whole CBSE syllabus 2026 in a period when the temperature of the country soars, as the board has proposed conducting the second phase in May. “What an inhumane decision by CBSE. Taking the full syllabus exam twice that too at that time where avg temp is 43 degrees. This change does not reflect any positive impact but will prove to be stressful. How is stress distributed here?,” they asked while sharing the feedback on draft norms.

Also read CBSE syllabus 2025-26 for Class 10, 12 out; new ‘best of 2’ exam format, must-know changes

A Jansatta journalist has also questioned the very term ‘second board examinations’, arguing that the second set of exams only appear to be an extension of the improvement provisions and not a real opportunity for students as the ones failing the first board exams will not be allowed to write them.

“If the second examination is solely improvement in nature, allowing students to appear for a maximum of three subjects, why is it being called a ‘second board examination’ instead of an ‘improvement exam’ or ‘supplementary exam’?,” Sushil Raghav questioned in a series of posts on X.

The number of subjects students can take in CBSE improvement exams has been increased to three, he noted, and asked why this minor change is being promoted as a grand initiative.

Taking a jibe at the people opposing the decision, a media professional said, “Those annoyed with this radical step by CBSE have forgotten that they were also kids one time. So, please get lost. In any case, how many people genuinely care about kids (especially of others’) in the insensitive India we live in? Enjoy, Kiddos!”

With inputs from PTI