CBSE Announces Second Set of Class 10 Exams for Over 6.69 Lakh Students
Details of Registration for Second Exams
Approximately 6.69 lakh students, representing 27% of those who participated in the initial CBSE Class 10 board exam, have signed up for an additional examination scheduled for May. This marks the inaugural offering of a secondary exam by the Board aimed at allowing students to enhance their academic performance.
Out of the total registrations, 5.26 lakh students have enrolled to improve their scores, while 85,285 students are registering under the ‘compartment’ category after failing to clear one or two subjects in the main examination. Additionally, 57,914 students are set to appear in both improvement and compartment categories, indicating their intention to retake subjects they did not pass as well as those they wish to improve upon.
Subject Choices and Registration Numbers
This year, students can opt to improve their performance in a maximum of three subjects, including science, social science, mathematics, and languages. Breakdown of the registrations shows that around 1.93 lakh students are set to take the exam in one subject, 2.79 lakh students for two subjects, and 1.97 lakh students for three subjects.
The science subject has garnered the highest number of registrations, with approximately 4.74 lakh students signing up. The mathematics (standard) paper follows with about 3.69 lakh registrations, while the mathematics (basic) paper has attracted 1.79 lakh students. Social science has around 1.55 lakh registrations, and English language and literature has recorded 98,536 students opting to improve their scores.
It is notable that the Board provides mathematics at two levels for Class 10—standard and basic. While both levels adhere to the same syllabus, the examination for the basic level is designed to be less challenging than that for the standard level.
Main Exam Statistics
In the initial examination held earlier this year in February and March, approximately 24.72 lakh students participated, consisting of 13.85 lakh boys and 10.87 lakh girls. The Board reported a commendable pass percentage of 93.7% following the results declared last week.
The second set of examinations is scheduled to take place from May 15 to 21. An official from the Board mentioned that these exams will be conducted at fewer centres when compared to the first round, and detailed planning for the logistics is currently underway.
Demographics of Students Registered for Improvement
Among the 5.26 lakh applicants seeking to improve their performance, a significant majority are male students, with 3.10 lakh boys registered. This trend aligns with the previous examinations, which also saw a greater number of boys participating compared to girls.
Alignment with Educational Policies
The CBSE’s initiative to provide two examination opportunities is consistent with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. This policy aims to minimize the pressure associated with board examinations by permitting all students to attempt these exams up to two times during a school year—one for the main exam and another for potential improvement.
To facilitate the introduction of a second exam, the Board conducted the Class 10 exams over a span of 23 days this year, a decrease from 34 days in 2025. The results for the initial exam were declared on April 15, almost a month earlier than the previous year.
Results of the second examination are anticipated to be released in June, and for those students taking the improvement exams, the best score from either attempt will be taken into account for their final assessment.
