CISCE revises Class 10, 12 board exam rules; scraps compartment exam, key changes

NEW DELHI: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) will now issue a single pass certificate cum statement of marks to students who qualify in the Indian School Certificate (ISC) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) exam from 2025 academic year. The council has made some changes to the ICSE Class 10 and ISC Class 12 board exam regulations.

The updates in exam regulations will affect how ICS, ISC results will be awarded, and how rechecks and re-evaluations will be handled. As per the CISCE amendments in the exam regulations, the Class 10, 12 results will now be declared as "Qualified" or "Not Qualified" instead of "Pass Certificate Awarded" or "Pass Certificate Not Awarded."

To receive the Pass Certificate Cum Statement of Marks in ISC Class 12, students will have to secure the passing marks in at least four subjects, including English, and achieve a passing grade in Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) and community service, which are internally assessed. The minimum passing mark for each subject is 35%.

To qualify for ICSE Class 10, students will have to be enrolled for the examination with a minimum of six subjects and meet the pass standard in at least five subjects, including English. Students will also have to achieve a passing grade in SUPW and Community Service, which are internally assessed. The minimum passing mark for each subject is 33%.

The notice further states that a supplementary statement of marks will be issued to students who appear in a subsequent examination in one or more subjects. A statement of marks will be given to students who appear for the examination but do not qualify.

Improvement examination

The council has also discontinued the compartment examination from the examination year 2024 onwards and replaced it with an "Improvement Examination”. “Candidates who wish to improve their marks/grade in the same year of the Examination may take the Improvement Examination,” the notice said.

Students will be allowed to appear in a maximum of two subjects. The higher of the two marks obtained by the student in a subject across the two examinations will be considered as the final mark. Students whose overall result changes from Not Qualified to Qualified will have to return their original documents to CISCE through their school.

Changes to the recheck and re-evaluation process

Another significant update in Class 10, Class 12 board exam regulations is the process of handling rechecks and re-evaluations. CISCE has outlined the procedures for students who are dissatisfied with their results and wish to request a recheck or re-evaluation of their answer scripts:

Students can apply for a recheck of their answer sheets to verify that all answers have been marked, check for errors in totaling marks, and confirm that the continuation sheets attached to the answer script are intact. The request should be submitted online within four days from the declaration of ICSE, ISE results. A fee will apply for each subject requested for recheck.

After the recheck results are declared, students who are not satisfied with their marks can request for answer sheet re-evaluation. The re-evaluation process will include a full review of the answer script by a subject expert. Applications for re-evaluation should be submitted within three days of the recheck results being published. A fee will also apply for this process, and the re-evaluation results will be final.

“The Chief Executive and Secretary of CISCE shall have the power to cancel documents issued to a candidate i.e., Pass Certificate Cum Statement of Marks / Statement of Marks / Supplementary Statement of Marks, etc. which have been defaced or altered in any detail or manner / obtained by impersonation or by misrepresentation of facts or by fraudulent or dishonest means of any kind,” the official notice said.