CBSE Board Exams 2026: A minimum of 75% attendance is mandatory.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has outlined the essential requirements that students must meet to be eligible for Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations. With the newly introduced biannual examination system, students and schools need to be aware of the eligibility, attendance, internal assessment, and subject offerings.
Class 10 and Class 12 are structured as two-year programmes comprising Classes 9 and 10, and Classes 11 and 12, respectively. To appear for the examinations, students must study all subjects over the two-year duration.
The following are the key requirements for appearing in CBSE Board examinations:
- Attendance: A minimum of 75% attendance is mandatory.
- Internal assessment: Internal assessment is a compulsory component of the evaluation system under NEP 2020. It is a continuous two-year process. If a student does not attend school, internal assessment cannot be completed, and their result cannot be declared. Such students, even if regular, will be placed in the "Essential Repeat" category.
- Additional subjects: In Class 10, students may opt for up to two additional subjects beyond the five compulsory ones. In Class 12, only one additional subject is permitted. These subjects must also be studied for two years.
- Subject approval by schools: Schools affiliated with CBSE cannot offer subjects without prior approval from the Board. If a school lacks qualified teachers, laboratories, or other resources for a subject, its students cannot opt for that subject as a main or additional subject.
- Compartment and essential repeat candidates: Regular students who previously opted for additional subjects but were placed in the "Compartment" or "Essential Repeat" category may appear in these subjects as private candidates under the respective category.
Students who do not meet the above conditions will not be eligible to appear for additional subjects in CBSE Board examinations as private candidates.
