CBSE to hold vocational courses exam in February; tests for core subjects will continue to be held in March

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to hold exams for ‘skill education’ (vocational) and related subjects in the second half of February from next year onwards, it said on Wednesday.

The examination for the core academic subjects such as languages, maths, and science subjects will continue to be held in March. The board in support of its decision cited a Delhi High Court directive which had asked it to ensure that the time of results of exams and re-evaluation are taken into account while determining the cut-off date for admission to colleges of Delhi University, it said in a statement.

Representational image. Image courtesy: cbse.nic.in

There are about 40 skill education courses being offered by the CBSE in class 12 and 10. There are also certain other related subjects such as Typography and Computer Applications (English), Web applications, Graphics, Office Communication, etc. where there are very few students, in fact, less than 500.

“These will also be included in February exams as these subjects have a larger practical component, and shorter theory papers,” the CBSE said.

Unlike most other Boards, CBSE does not have any streams or fixed combination of subjects at senior secondary level. At present, the examination date-sheet of CBSE begins from March, and it extends to seven weeks or more, to be able to accommodate all possible combinations of subjects.

“Due to this, results go into the fourth week of May, and the re-evaluation process gets over only by July-end. By this time, the admissions in DU and many other universities is almost complete,” it added.

The subjects for which the exams will be held in February and in March will be notified on the CBSE website next week.