Indian school education system competent enough to handle board examinations twice a year: Dharmendra Pradhan
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)'s plan for conducting Class 10 board exams twice a year from 2026 will de-stress students from exam pressure while adding that the Indian school education system is competent enough across the country to handle board examinations twice a year.
'India has over 60 school boards, and there has never been any concern about their competency. The examination structure itself is not putting pressure on the education system. The decision to conduct board exams twice a year is not to dilute the process, but to reduce stress among students,' Pradhan said during an education conclave organised by a leading news channel.
Pradhan said that the National Testing Agency (NTA) already conducts the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) twice a year, allowing students to choose their best score.
'Building on this idea, we are now introducing a similar approach for Class 10 board exams. Starting soon, students will have the option to appear for the board exam twice a year and retain their best score. This move is recommended by experts and it is aimed at providing flexibility and reducing exam-related anxiety. Our school education system is competent enough to handle this reform across the country,' he added.
CBSE, in its draft policy released in February, proposed conducting Class 10 board exams twice in an academic year starting from 2026. The draft, prepared in line with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recommendations, was made public on February 25, and March 9 was the deadline for feedback submission.
According to the draft policy, CBSE board examination 2026 for 26,60,000 students of Class 10 in 84 subjects will be held in two phases in 34 days – 18 days in the first phase from February 17 to March 6 and 16 days in the second phase from May 5 to May 20.
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