The CBSE faces a dilemma regarding the scheduling of the two rounds of board examinations recommended by the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF). The options being considered are January-February, March-April, and June, every year.
Another option the CBSE is introducing a semester system with biannual exams. Currently, board exams for Classes 10 and 12 are conducted in February-March. Officials have stated that consultations are ongoing, and no decision has been made yet on when and in what format twice a year board exams will be conducted.
According to the officials of the board three possible options have been discussed: conducting exams in a semester system with the first board exam in January-February and the second in March-April, or holding the second set of board exams in June along with supplementary or improvement exams.
Given the academic calendar, the schedule of competitive exams, and the geographical challenges of CBSE schools spread across the country and abroad, the semester system seems less feasible.
The board has informed the Union education ministry that more than 150 steps are required to conduct board exams for Classes 10 and 12 under the current system.
The board declared that the process involves a minimum of 310 days, starting from filling out the list of candidates, center notifications, releasing roll numbers, conducting practicals and theory exams, declaring results, and completing verification and revaluation. At least 55 days are required to conduct the two exams.
The challenge now for the CBSE is determining when and how to replicate this massive exercise for a second round.
Furthermore, conducting exams before February also presents challenges because some states experience severe winters. Currently, the schedule for board exams begins around February 15, so dates need to be adjusted to provide a considerable gap.
Another option is to conduct the second set of exams in June alongside the supplementary or improvement exams. However, none of these options are final. The board is still brainstorming, and widespread consultations are ongoing. It’s possible that more options will emerge during the process.
The ministry’s initial plan was to introduce biannual board exams from the 2024-25 academic session. However, it has been postponed by a year.
Prepared by the Union government-appointed national steering committee, led by former ISRO chairman K. Kasturirangan, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the new NCF proposed a semester system for students of Classes 11 and 12.
The framework, released by the ministry in August last year, also proposed giving students the option to take their board exams twice a year.
This is not the first attempt at reforming board exams. The Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) was introduced for Class 10 in 2009 but was revoked in 2017, returning to the old model of year-end exams.
During the Covid pandemic, the board exams for Classes 10 and 12 were split into two terms as a one-time measure, but the old format of year-end exams resumed this year, 2024.
