CBSE Board - Central Board of Secondary Education

Know all about CBSE board syllabus, pattern, exam results and more at Shiksha.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is the national education board of the country for public and private schools. Recognised worldwide, CBSE is an autonomous body which works under the supervision of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The current chairman of the Board is Anita Karwal.

In 1952, the CBSE was given its present name ‘Central Board of Secondary Education’, and in the year 1962, the Board was reconstituted. The Board provides affiliations to various schools and all of them have to follow the NCERT curriculum. The CBSE jurisdiction stretches all over India as well as beyond the national geographical boundaries of the country. The CBSE Board has seen rapid growth and expansion at the level of Secondary education resulting in improved quality and standard of education in institutions. From 309 schools under it back in 1962, the Board now has 21,271 schools in India, 228 schools in 25 foreign countries. There are 1,138 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 3,011 Government/Aided Schools, 16,741 Independent Schools, 595 Jawahar Novodaya Vidyalayas and 14 Central Tibetan Schools, as on May 1, 2019.

CBSE’s main aim is to serve the educational institutions more effectively and wants to be responsive to the educational needs of those students whose parents were employed in the Central Government and had frequently transferable jobs. Through the regional offices that are set up by the CBSE, the body maintains educational standards across the country by monitoring the activities of these regional offices on a regular basis. These regional offices in various parts of the country take care of the day-to-day administration of the affiliated schools. The Board conducts centralized examinations for classes 10th and 12th every year in the months of February and March.

The CBSE Class 10 Board Exams are called All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE) and the Class 12 Board exams are called – All India Senior School Certificate Examination (AISSCE). CBSE made the Class X board exams optional in 2010-2011, however, from 2018 onwards the exam has been made compulsory for all the students.

What's New in CBSE Board Exams 2020

• Main examinations to be conducted prior to vocational examinations

The central board has decided to conduct the main examinations before the vocational exams, opposite to the pattern which has been followed till now. The exam for the subject having the most number of students will be conducted first.

• Increase in the number of MCQs, reduction in descriptive questions

The number of multiple-choice questions in the board examinations in a majority of subjects will increase while the number of descriptive questions will be reduced.

•  More internal choices

In order to make the assessment student-friendly, more internal choices will be provided in the examination.

• Practicals to be conducted at external centres

To encourage fair practice, the practical examination for both class 10^th and 12th boards will be conducted at the external centres and not at the respective schools.

As per reports, the CBSE board exams 2020 will start as early as February 15. The practical examinations will start in January, as per the notification released by the Board. The CBSE date sheet will be released tentatively in the month of December.

CBSE Board Important Dates 2020

The Board will release the CBSE date sheet in the month of December 2019 (tentatively). However, the Board has not officially declared anything as of now. The examinations, like every year, will take place in the months of February and March. Candidates can check out the CBSE Date Sheet Class 10th and CBSE Date Sheet Class 12th for their reference. 

According to the official statistics, in 2019, as many as 3,25,638 students had registered for the CBSE Class X board examinations, while only 3,22,067 appeared, out of which only 2,60,789 successfully cleared the examinations, making it a pass percentage of 80.97.

While for the class XII examinations, 12,18,393 students had registered, out of which 12,05,484 students appeared for the examinations and 10,05,427 had cleared the CBSE examinations. It saw a pass percentage of 83.40.

CBSE Syllabus 10th, 12th

The Central Board has released the CBSE syllabus for classes 10th and 12th for the academic year 2019-20. With almost 2 months left for the Board examinations to start, all the students who will appear in the 2020 board exams, must go through the entire syllabus carefully and start preparing themselves. The students must divide the chapters and finish the syllabus well in time. The month of January should only be kept for revision of the whole syllabus and re-revision of all the important topics and going through the expected questions. Below, we have provided the complete CBSE Syllabus for classes 10 and 12. 

CBSE Syllabus 2020 Class 10 

 CBSE Syllabus 2020 Class 12

CBSE Class 10 Examination Scheme

• Mathematics will have two levels in the Board examination for Class X in 2020 (Not applicable to the internal assessment).
• If a student fails in any 1 of the 3 compulsory academic subjects (i.e. Science, Mathematics and Social Science) and passes in the Skill subject (offered as sixth optional subject), then that academic subject will be replaced by the Skill subject.
• If a student fails in any language subject, out of first 5 subjects, the same will be replaced by the language taken as sixth subject ( in case of no skills subjects offered ) or as seventh subject (optional), provided he or she has passed this language subject and after replacement either Hindi or English remains as a passed language in the first five subjects.

CBSE Class 12 Examination Scheme

• The Assessment scheme will have theory, internal assessment or practical components as per the syllabus given for each subject.
• Theory: The Board Examination will cover the entire syllabus of Class-XII for each subject. Marks and grades will be given on the basis of the 9-point grading system. Grading will be awarded in each scholastic subject.
• Internal Assessment: As per the details given in the syllabus for each subject.
• Assessment of Co-Scholastic Areas: The concerned teacher would make an objective assessment of the level of performance/ participation demonstrated by a student throughout the academic year and assign grades.

CBSE Exam Pattern 2020

The exam pattern usually comprises the division of the type of questions asked in the examination and the marks allotted to them. With the details of the exam pattern, students can prepare for the exams well and develop a handy preparation strategy for the upcoming exams.

CBSE exam pattern 2020 for class 10

The CBSE 10 class board pattern follows 80 marks for the written exam and 20 marks for the internal assessment. While the written exam will have the whole syllabus for the theory exams, the internal assessment would consist of cyclic tests, notebook submission, subject enrichment activities, assignment submission, etc. A student needs to secure at least 33% passing marks in each subject. The question paper usually consists of the following type of questions: Very short answer questions (1 mark each), Short answer type questions-I (2 marks each), Short answer type questions-II (3 marks each) and Long answer type questions-I (4 marks each) and sometimes Long answer type questions (5 marks each) are also asked. The exam duration is 3 hours.

CBSE exam pattern 2020 for Class 12

There are a total of 26 questions generally asked in the Class 12 board exam. The total duration is 3 hours. The question paper usually consists of the following type of questions: Very short answer questions (1 mark each), Short answer type questions-I (2 marks each), Short answer type questions-II (3 marks each), Value-based question (4 marks) and  Long answer type questions (5 marks each). A student needs to obtain 33% passing marks to qualify.

Also read: CBSE changes Class 12 board exam pattern for English

CBSE Sample Papers 2020

The CBSE Board has released the CBSE sample papers for the academic year 2019-20. Students must practise the sample papers and also refer to the marking scheme while preparing for the examination. 
Click here to download the CBSE sample papers 2020 for classes 10th and 12th 

CBSE Admit Card 2020 for Class 10th, 12th

The Central Board releases the CBSE admit card of classes 10th and class 12th in the first week of February. It will be released online for private students, while the regular students will have to collect them from their respective schools. The admit card will contain the exam time table, student name, date of birth, CBSE roll number and exam day instructions. Students must keep the admit cards carefully till the announcement of the results.

Preparation

All the students preparing for the Class 10th and 12th board examinations must cover the entire syllabus well in time. At least a month should be kept reserved for revision of all the important things. Here are a few more CBSE Class 10 preparation tips as well as Class 12 preparation tips which the students can follow in order to secure good marks in the examinations.

1. Make a schedule/time table
   Students must begin early with the preparations for the board examinations. They must chalk out a full schedule and follow it religiously. All the important topics should be revised after every few days. 
2. Revise the formulae
   One of the most important things in exams is the formulae which we have in subjects like Mathematics, Science, etc. Students should make sure that they learn all the formulae by heart and revise them each day as to not forget them while attempting any question.
3. Eat healthy
   Students must make sure to not skip meals in between studies. Meals are very important for the proper working of our body and mind.
4. Practise previous years' question papers/ CBSE sample papers
   Attempting previous years' question papers/sample papers give the student an insight into the type of questions asked as well as the marking scheme. 

CBSE Result 2020

The Board will announce the CBSE 10th result and CBSE 12th result in the first week of May 2020. All the students who appear for the board examinations can check their CBSE results by entering their admit card number, date of birth, roll number, school number and school centre number on the CBSE website. Students who are unsatisfied with their results can apply for re-evaluation/ re-checking. The re-checking result will be released in the second week of June 2020.

The Central Board of Secondary Education also conducts entrance exams. Some of the popular national level entrance tests conducted by CBSE are mentioned below: Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Selection Test (JNVST) is designed, developed and conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education annually to shortlist meritorious students for Class VI admission in each Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV). Now that you have completed Class XII, it is time to take a decision regarding course selection for higher studies. To help you make an informed decision for a smooth career-building process, Shiksha has compiled a useful list of Courses after class XII. Click on the links below to check your options:
Entrance Exams for College Admissions

Most students start preparing for entrance exams at their Class X level itself to secure admission in their dream course/college. Shiksha has a comprehensive repository of entrance exams wherein students are offered information along the lines of exam eligibility, important dates, exam centres, pattern, syllabus, admit card, answer key, cut-off, admission process, question papers, counselling and results.
Choose the right college after Class XII
Looking for details on a specific college or just exploring what options are available? College and course selection can be stressful given that there are thousands of colleges in India. But not anymore! Now you can find all the necessary details in one place. Click on the links below to see the list of colleges offering courses you may be interested in after Class XII. Use filters - Location, Course, Specialisation, Mode of Study, Accreditation, Total Fees - on the left-hand side of these pages to find the colleges you are looking for. You can read college reviews, compare colleges, read questions and answers about each course, and check eligibility criteria to decide on the college and course that works best for you. Click Study Abroad to find oversees options for UG and PG studies.