The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) began the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations today, with more than 43 lakh students appearing across the country. Of these, nearly 25 lakh are from Class 10 and around 18.5 lakh from Class 12.
The examinations were conducted in a single shift from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Entry to centres closed at 10 AM, with students advised to reach well in advance, keeping traffic conditions in mind. For Class 10, exams are being held at 8,074 centres, while 7,574 centres have been designated for Class 12.
Mathematics and key class 12 Subjects
On the first day, Class 10 students appeared for Mathematics (Basic) and Mathematics (Standard). According to initial feedback, the paper was moderate in difficulty and largely based on NCERT textbooks.
Meanwhile, Class 12 students wrote papers for Biotechnology, Entrepreneurship, Engineering Graphics, and Business Studies.
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The Class 10 board exams will continue until March 10, while Class 12 exams are scheduled to conclude on April 10. In total, students will appear for 83 subjects in Class 10 and 120 subjects in Class 12 this year.
Participation details
Among the 25 lakh Class 10 candidates, approximately 14 lakh are boys and 10.9 lakh are girls. In Class 12, around 10.2 lakh boys and 8.3 lakh girls are appearing for the examinations.
Clarification on Second Board Examination from 2026
CBSE has also issued a clarification regarding the second board examination system for Class 10 beginning in 2026.
Under the guidelines, all students must mandatorily appear in the first board examination. Students who pass may improve their performance in up to three subjects, including Science, Mathematics, Social Science, and languages.
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However, those who do not appear in three or more subjects in the first examination will be placed under the “Essential Repeat” category. Such students will not be allowed to take the second board exam and will have to appear again in the main examination next February.
Students placed in the “Compartment” category after the first exam will be permitted to sit for the second examination. CBSE has further clarified that students cannot take stand-alone additional subjects after passing Class 10.
