CBSE Class X, XII board exams to begin February 16, conclude by April 9

CBSE has released the 2027 Class X and XII board exam datesheets, with papers beginning February 16. Over 46 lakh students have registered for the examinations

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will conduct the 2027 Class X and Class XII board examinations from February 16, with the Class X examinations concluding on March 9 and those for Class XII extending until April 9, according to the datesheet released by the board on Friday.

 

The examinations for both classes will begin at 10.30 am. While the Class X schedule spans 22 days, the Class XII examinations will run for nearly eight weeks, covering a range of academic, vocational and elective subjects.

 

The board has released the datesheets 101 days ahead of the examinations, compared with 110 days in advance last year. It said the early release was possible because schools had submitted their lists of candidates (LOC) data on time, allowing it to finalise the subject combinations opted for by students.

 

 

More than 26.5 lakh students in Class X and 19.8 lakh in Class XII have registered for the 2027 examinations. The board said it had accounted for more than 40,000 subject combinations while preparing the schedules to ensure that no two examinations opted for by an individual student coincided.

 

It also considered the tentative schedules of major entrance examinations for Class XII students and attempted to complete the board examinations well before these tests. Adequate gaps have been provided between commonly opted subjects to help students manage their preparation, it said.

 

The board said the advance announcement would give students and families more time to plan their academic preparation and travel during the summer vacation. Schools would also be able to plan their academic activities and examination-centre arrangements, while the schedule was designed to minimise teachers’ prolonged absence from schools during evaluation.

 

The 2027 examinations will mark the second year of CBSE’s two-board examination system for Class X, introduced in 2026 in line with the National Education Policy 2020. Under the system, students must appear for the first examination, while the second, scheduled separately in May, provides an opportunity to improve scores in up to three subjects. The better performance across the two attempts is considered for the final result. The second examination is optional for eligible students and does not apply to Class XII.