Nine decades are over since the establishment of the central board of secondary education (CBSE) in our country. Its establishment dates back to 1921, during which the first Indian school board was set in Uttar Pradesh. The board was named- U.P Board of High School and Intermediate Education. Later when the board began experiencing difficulties, a joint board for all the areas was created. In 1929 through a resolution of the Government of India, Board of High School and Intermediate Education was established. In 1952 through an amendment to the constitution of the board, the present name “The Central Board of Secondary Education” came into force. In 1962, the board was reconstituted to avail its service to different schools and students who had to move from state to state. The headquarter of CBSE is situated in New Delhi. 

The supreme control of CBSE is with the Government of India. The Ministry of Education is the controlling authority of CBSE. Schools like -Navodaya Vidyalayas, Kendriya Vidyalayas, government schools, and private schools are affiliated to CBSE. NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) curriculum is followed by all schools affiliated to CBSE.

Every year CBSE conducts a board examination for classes X and XII. In recent times due to the COVID 19 pandemic, there have been some issues faced by the board to conduct these exams. Considering the present situation, the board has implemented the Special scheme for classes X and XII for the academic year 2021-22.

Special Scheme for 2021-22

1. The academic session will be divided into two terms with around 50% syllabus, in each term- The exams will be conducted at the end of each term.
2. The syllabus for the board examination 2021-22 is to be rationalized.
3. Internal Assessment/ Practical/ Project work will be made more credible and valid.

Details of Curriculum Transaction

• Class IX-X: Internal Assessment would include three periodic tests, student enrichment, portfolio, and practical work/ speaking listening activities/ project.
• Class XI-XII- Internal Assessment would include end of topic or unit tests/ exploratory activities/ practicals/ projects.

Term I Examination

• Term I Examination will be conducted at the end of the first term between November-December 2021.
• Term I exams will be Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) based- the question paper will include case-based MCQs and MCQs on the assertion-reasoning type. The total duration of the test will be 90 minutes.

Term II Examination

• Term II Examination will be conducted at the end of the second term around March-April 2022. The exam will have questions of different types (case-based/situation based, open ended-short answer/ long answer type).
• The total duration of the paper is 2 hours. If the situation is not conductive, a 90 minutes MCQ-based exam will be conducted instead of a descriptive exam.

Marks of both terms I and term II will be contributed to the overall score.