CBSE To Resume Board Exam Tomorrow; No Exam In Middle East
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will resume the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations on March 5 after a two-day break on March 3 and 4. For Class 10, examinations will be conducted for Sindhi, Malayalam, Odia, Assamese, Kannada, and Kokborok from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Class 12 students will appear for the Psychology paper during the same time slot.
However, amid escalating regional tensions following weekend attacks by the United States and Israel on multiple targets in Iran, and subsequent retaliatory strikes by Iranian forces, CBSE on March 3 announced the postponement of the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations scheduled for March 5 and 6, 2026, in several Middle East countries, citing student safety.
In its official circular, the board stated that it will review the situation on March 5, 2026, and take appropriate decisions regarding examinations scheduled from March 7 onwards.
Students have been advised to remain in contact with their respective schools for updates and to follow official announcements carefully.
Also, the Kerala government has postponed the Class 10 and 12 examinations scheduled to be held this week at centres in the Middle East due to the intensifying conflict in the region. The announcement was made by the State General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, who cited the worsening security situation.
The minister said the security situation in the Gulf has made conducting the public exams impossible. The government has decided to postpone the SSLC exam scheduled for March 5 in the Gulf region.
The Higher Secondary examinations slated for March 5, 6, and 7 in the region have also been deferred. The revised dates for examinations will be announced later.
The board examinations began on February 17, with over 43 lakh students appearing this year, around 25 lakh in Class 10 and approximately 18.5 lakh in Class 12. The exams are being conducted at 8,074 centres for Class 10 and 7,574 centres for Class 12.
CBSE has advised students to reach their examination centres well in advance, keeping traffic conditions in mind. Entry will close sharply at 10 AM. All examinations are being conducted in a single shift from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
Class 10 examinations will conclude on March 10, while Class 12 examinations will end on April 10. In total, students are appearing for 83 subjects in Class 10 and 120 subjects in Class 12.
Among the nearly 25 lakh Class 10 candidates, approximately 14 lakh are boys and 10.9 lakh are girls. For Class 12, around 10.2 lakh boys and 8.3 lakh girls are appearing this year.
