The Central Board of Secondary Education has told schools how the Class 10 board exams will be structured for the 2028 batch. The latest notification released on October 29, 2026, is meant for students who are in Class 9 this session. Those students who are in Class 10, and will be taking their boards in 2027, are not covered by it.
What is five board papers
Every student will sit exams in two languages, mathematics, science and social science.
Students will study nine compulsory subjects in all, but the other four are not board-examined in the same way. These are a third language, art education, physical education and well-being, and vocational education. Schools will assess them differently.
Two ways to complete vocational education
Vocational education stays compulsory for this batch, and students can meet the requirement in one of two ways.
The first is Kaushal Vikas, which is assessed internally by the school. A student who scores at least 33 per cent gets a school certificate and does not have to take a separate board exam in it.
The second is to pick one of 22 skill subjects notified by the board, such as artificial intelligence, data science, information technology, financial markets, healthcare or design thinking. These come with a Class 10 board exam.
The marks and grades go on the CBSE marksheet, and students who pass receive certification under the National Skills Qualifications Framework.
How the skill subject helps a student pass
A student who fails mathematics, science or social science, but passes the skill subject, can have the skill subject counted in place of the failed paper when the result is calculated.
The provision covers a fail in any one of the three. It is meant to stop a single weak paper from costing a student a year.
The circular, signed by Praggya M. Singh, Director (Academics), also lists items that will not form part of the curriculum for these batches:
- Individuals in Society will not be taught in Class 9 in 2026-27.
- The Computational Thinking and AI modules are dropped from Class 9 for 2026-27.
- Environmental Education will not be part of Class 10 in 2027-28.
According to the board, the changes match each new curricular area to the date it is actually due to start. Interdisciplinary areas and the CT and AI modules will not be in the Scheme of Studies for these batches.
For this batch, five papers are mandatory, vocational education cannot be skipped, and anyone choosing a skill subject must appear in its board exam.
CBSE expects schools to counsel students on the vocational choice well before Class 10 begins, so that nobody learns the assessment rules late.
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 "CBSE class 10 boards 2028: Compulsory subjects, Kaushal Vikas and skill subject rule; Explained")
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