Reports saying CBSE cannot conduct board exams twice a year currently ‘totally incorrect’; board denies claims

NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) rubbished claims that it has told the education ministry that board exams cannot be conducted twice a year from the current academic schedule. The board isolated itself from the views shared on its behalf on the matter in a report by the Hindustan Times and others. CBSE said that the information is ‘totally incorrect’ and has no basis in any communication between the board and ministry.

“This is in reference to the news article covered in Hindustan Times – Delhi edition dated 30/06/2024 titled- `Cannot conduct Board Exams twice a year :CBSE’ (Fareeha Iftikhar) . A few other news media have also covered similar news stories. The imputation in this news item as regards CBSE's views in the matter being raised therein is denied. It is totally incorrect and does not have any basis in any communication made between the Ministry and CBSE,” the board said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Some board and ministry officials told HT that CBSE presented the current situation about conducting board exams twice a year for Classes 10 and 12 during a programme on the National Curriculum Framework (NCF). While the preparation for conducting exams two times needs more than 300 days, the board will need 55 days to conduct the exams, CBSE said, as per the report.

CBSE board exams

Since CBSE schools are spread across the world, it is not possible to conduct CBSE board exams in two shifts in the present system and policies, the board reasoned, as per the HT report.

In April this year, the education ministry asked the central board to work out logistics for conducting board exams twice a year from the 2025-26 academic session. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said in an interview that the format will be implemented from the 2024-25 academic year.

According to the NCF announced by the education ministry last year, board examinations will be held twice a year to ensure that students have enough time and opportunity to perform well and get an option to retain the best score.