Education Minister opens draft plan for twice-a-year board exams for public opinion

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan declared that the option of holding CBSE board exams twice a year has been examined by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Secretary of School Education, the Chairperson of the CBSE, and other ministry officials.

The Ministry will shortly publish a draft representation for public feedback of what the Ministry, CBSE, and other stakeholders are planning.

In the post, Pradhan said, "(The Ministry) held detailed deliberations with the Secretary of School Education, CBSE Chairperson, and other officials of the Ministry and CBSE over ‘Conduct of CBSE examinations twice a year.’ The draft schema of these deliberations will be placed soon for public consultation by CBSE."

The Minister added that one of the government's top priorities has been to provide a stress-free learning environment for students, and that reforming and improving examinations is a crucial first step in achieving this goal.

Pradhan also said that the reform will lessen students' anxiety related to exams and is another important step in putting the new National Education Policy's (NEP) many important elements into effect.

If CBSE's twice-yearly board exam scheme is implemented, as previously mentioned in the draft NEP rules, students will have the chance to sit the exam twice throughout a school year, beginning in 2026–2027, and will be able to keep their highest score.

Earlier, the ministry requested that the board create a plan for holding twice-yearly board exams in April 2024.