Year Ender 2025: These Major CBSE Announcements Were the Most Talked About This Year, Check the Complete List
CBSE has made significant changes to the education system, including conducting board exams twice a year, emphasising competency-based questions, and making attendance mandatory.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has implemented several revolutionary changes in its education system and methodology in 2025. For a long time, it has been said that the Indian education system focuses more on rote learning than on understanding. This results in a lack of practical knowledge and, on the other hand, fear of board exams.
The fact that everything is decided in a single exam and the pressure of marks has been increasing mental stress on students. Keeping these factors in mind, CBSE has decided to make some major and important changes in school education, some of which are discussed here.
What is CBSE's clear objective?
The CBSE board's objective is very clear: to reduce the pressure of exams on students, to instill in them the habit of understanding the subject instead of just focusing on marks, and to prepare them better for future studies and careers. In this direction, CBSE has announced reforms such as conducting board exams twice a year and increasing the number of competency-based questions.
Two Board Exams per Year for Class 10
To reduce the mental stress on children and improve the quality of education, CBSE has given Class 10 students the opportunity to appear for board exams twice a year. This is considered the most important decision taken by the board. This decision has been taken under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, so that children do not face the pressure of a single exam and get a second chance to improve their scores. This system will be implemented from the academic session of 2026.
Major Change in Exam Pattern
The board has made a major change in the exam pattern, giving more emphasis to competency-based questions. This means that the papers will now include more questions that test the intellectual level of the students and assess how students can apply a subject or topic to their real lives. The new system will include multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and comprehension-based questions. Simply writing definitions or rote-learned answers will no longer suffice; students will have to think critically to answer the questions.
75 percent attendance mandatory for board exams
Now, a minimum of 75 percent attendance will be mandatory for students to appear in the board exams. This means that if a student's attendance is less than 75 percent during the entire academic session, they will not be allowed to take the board exams. The aim is to ensure that students remain engaged in their studies throughout the year, not just during exam time.
More subject choices in Class 11
CBSE has also simplified the subject selection process for Class 11. If a student studied Basic Maths in Class 10, they can now choose Standard Maths as one of their subjects in Class 11. This change will provide students with more options for their further studies and career paths.
APAAR ID now mandatory
CBSE has implemented a new rule starting with the 2026 board exams. It will now be mandatory for all Indian students studying in CBSE-affiliated schools to have an APAAR ID.