CBSE issues fresh guidelines on direct admissions and subject changes for 2025-26

The Central Board of Secondary Education has issued a fresh reminder to affiliated schools to strictly follow timelines related to direct admissions in Classes 10 and 12, as well as requests for subject changes.

In its notice, the board emphasized that adhering to the prescribed schedule was necessary for the “smooth functioning and timely execution of various preparatory processes involved in the conduct of the examinations.”

According to the circular, the deadlines are as follows:

For direct admissions:

• Admission of students in Classes 10 and 12: up to Aug 31.
• Compilation of cases in tabular form with documents to be sent to regional offices: by Sept 2.
• Approval by regional offices: Sept 15.
• Admissions after Aug 31, permitted only in cases of transfer of government employees, must be sent to the concerned regional office within two days of admission.

For subject changes:

• Requests for subject changes in Classes 10 and 12 must be submitted by Aug 31.
• Compilation of requests with documents to reach regional offices: by Sept 2.
• Approval deadline for regional offices: Sept 15.

The board also announced that four new regional offices will begin functioning from Sept 1. These are located in Lucknow (under the Prayagraj office), Gurugram (under Panchkula), Ranchi (under Patna), and Raipur (under Bhubaneswar).

Additionally, three new sub-regional offices have been set up under the Guwahati office at Agartala, Itanagar, and Gangtok.

However, for the 2025-26 session, all direct admission and subject change cases from these sub-regional offices will continue to be handled by Guwahati.

Reiterating its instructions, the board clarified that schools must not entertain any requests for direct admission or subject change after Aug 31.

Further details are available on the CBSE website.