Over 6.6 lakh students register for CBSE Class 10 second board exam

A large number of Class 10 students have registered for the CBSE’s second board examination scheduled in May, with around 6.69 lakh candidates opting to appear, accounting for 27% of those who took the first exam.

This is the first time the Board has introduced a second opportunity for students to improve their performance.

Out of the total registrations, 5.26 lakh students have applied for improvement, while 85,285 candidates fall under the compartment category after failing to clear one or two subjects in the main exam.

Another 57,914 students have registered under both categories, allowing them to reappear for failed subjects as well as attempt improvement in previously cleared ones.

Students were allowed to improve their scores in up to three subjects from science, social science, mathematics, and languages. Around 1.93 lakh students will appear in one subject, 2.79 lakh in two subjects, and 1.97 lakh in three subjects.

Science has received the highest number of registrations, with about 4.74 lakh students opting for it. This is followed by mathematics (standard) with 3.69 lakh registrations, mathematics (basic) with 1.79 lakh, social science with 1.55 lakh, and English language and literature with 98,536 registrations.

The CBSE offers mathematics at two levels in Class 10, standard and basic. Both follow the same syllabus, but the basic-level paper is comparatively easier.

Around 24.72 lakh students, including 13.85 lakh boys and 10.87 lakh girls, appeared for the main examination held in February and March.

The Board recorded a pass percentage of 93.7% in results declared last week. The second examination will be conducted from May 15 to May 21.

An official from the Board said the second exam will be held at fewer centers than the main examination, with arrangements currently being finalized.

More boys than girls have registered for the second attempt, continuing the trend seen in the first exam. Of the 5.26 lakh students opting for improvement, 3.10 lakh are boys.

The provision for two board examinations aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which recommends reducing the high-stakes nature of board exams by allowing students two attempts in a year.

To implement this system, the Class 10 board exams were conducted over 23 days this year, compared to 34 days in 2025. Results were announced on April 15, nearly a month earlier than last year.

Results for the second examination are expected in June. For students appearing for improvement, the higher of the two scores will be considered final.