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CBSE Grade 10, 12 board exams to begin in February 2019

Students appearing for the CBSE Grade 10 board exams in 2019 are likely to have two test paper options.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced that the Grade 10 and class 12 board exams 2019 will be held in the month of February.
Further, the board will release the complete schedule of the board examination next week.

The board has also decided to hold exams for 'skill education' (vocational) and related subjects in the second half of February from next year onwards, it said on Wednesday.
The examination for the core academic subjects such as languages, maths, and science subjects will continue to be held in March.
Why this decision
The board in support of its decision cited a Delhi High Court directive which had asked it to ensure that the time of results of exams and re-evaluation are taken into account while determining the cut-off date for admission to colleges of Delhi University, it said in a statement.
There are about 40 skill education courses being offered by the CBSE in Grade 12 and 10.
"There are also certain other related subjects such as Typography and Computer Applications (English), Web applications, Graphics, Office Communication, etc. where there are very few students, in fact, less than 500.
"These will also be included in February exams as these subjects have a larger practical component, and shorter theory papers," the CBSE said.
Unlike most other Boards, CBSE does not have any streams or fixed combination of subjects at senior secondary level.
At present, the examination date-sheet of CBSE begins from March, and it extends to seven weeks or more, to be able to accommodate all possible combinations of subjects.
"Due to this, results go into the fourth week of May, and the re-evaluation process gets over only by July-end. By this time, the admissions in DU and many other universities is almost complete," it added.
The subjects for which the exams will be held in February and in March will be notified on the CBSE website next week.

Grade 10 maths exam to have two test paper option
The CBSE is likely to introduce the option of answering a standard-level or the existing-level mathematics question paper for class 10 maths exam. Officials familiar with the development said students will have to make the choice when forms for the exam are filled up later this year.

According to reports in Hindustan Times, syllabus for the exam would remain the same; but this will allow students, not keen on pursuing maths for higher studies, to opt for a simpler question paper.

Officials added that this may start as a pilot project from March 2019 and could be extended to the class 12 board exams. CBSE is a national level board of education in India and has formed a 15-member committee comprising mathematics experts, and those from universities, schools and the National Council of Educational Research and Training.

The board had received representations to introduce two question papers from several schools across the country. "The National Curriculum Framework document states all subjects should be examined at two levels by the board, beginning with maths and English. It also said that students should have the choice between higher and standard level," said a maths expert.

An official said the higher-level paper would have more questions on applied mathematics and involve higher order thinking skills.