NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued a detailed set of guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the conduct of practical examinations, project work and internal assessments for Classes 10 and 12 for the 2025–26 academic session.
The board has asked schools to ensure adherence to instructions, saying that no request for changes in uploaded marks will be entertained.
In an official notice, schools have been instructed to complete assessments within the prescribed schedule, as CBSE will be conducting four examinations this year and timelines will be limited for any extensions.
To view the detailed notification, click here.
Schools have been asked ensure that correct marks are uploaded after verifying the maximum marks allotted for each subject. The board has clarified that marks once uploaded cannot be changed later.
Students in national or international sports
CBSE has said that any student participating in a national or international sports event whose practical exams clash with the event may be accommodated.
The notice states that “the school may reschedule the practicals within the overall CBSE schedule” but that no extra time beyond the notified window will be permitted, according to the CBSE.
CBSE has reiterated that all practical examinations, project work and internal assessments must align with guidelines available on the academic branch website.
Schools and examiners must familiarise themselves with the maximum marks distribution as mentioned in the curriculum document and the circular issued on November 17, 2025.
The practical exam period for regular schools will be from January 1 to February 14, 2026. Winter-bound schools will conduct exams from November 6 to December 6, 2025, as earlier communicated by the CBSE.
Instructions for practical
For Class 10, the CBSE has listed a set of assessment-related instructions that schools must follow during the 2025–26 practical and internal evaluation cycle.
No external examiner for Class 10: According to the CBSE, no external examiner will be appointed for Class 10 practical examinations, project work or internal assessments. All assessments will be handled by the school’s designated internal examiners.
Schools to arrange their own practical answer books: The CBSE will not supply practical answer books for Class 10. Schools must make all necessary arrangements, including printing and managing answer sheets for practicals and projects.
No submission of answer books to CBSE: After the assessments are completed, Class 10 practical answer books are not required to be sent to the regional office. Schools must retain and preserve the records as per CBSE instructions.
CBSE Class 12 Practical Exams 2025
CBSE has issued a separate set of instructions for Class 12 practical examinations, which involve both internal and external examiners. These include conduct of experiments, marking pattern and uploading protocols.
Joint selection of practical/experiments: The experiments conducted for the practical exam must be jointly selected by both the external and internal examiners from the list provided in the official curriculum.
Avoid general questions: The board has advised examiners to avoid questions of a broad or general nature and keep them aligned strictly with the practical syllabus.
Marking of investigatory projects: Investigatory projects that show strong effort and originality should be awarded proportionately higher marks. Routine or repetitive projects should be given only average marks.
Marks to be shown separately: Examiners must record marks for laboratory work, viva, project and the final practical separately on the answer book. This is to ensure transparency and avoid complications later.
No fractional marks in award list: CBSE has specified that fractional marks must not be uploaded. If the total includes a fraction, it must be rounded up to the next whole number. For instance, 25.5 must be entered as 26 in the award list.
Joint uploading of marks: Both internal and external examiners are required to jointly upload marks immediately after the practical examination is completed. According to the CBSE, marks must be uploaded on the same day and from the school where the practical is conducted, following the prescribed procedure.
Appointment of external examiners by CBSE only: The board will appoint external examiners for authorised subjects. Schools are not permitted to arrange alternative examiners locally.
Reporting issues to regional office: If there are delays due to non-availability, refusal or non-reporting of external examiners, schools must report the issue immediately to the regional office.
Uploading of marks
Marks for all assessments must be uploaded on the same day the assessment is conducted.
The uploading window will run parallel to the exam period from January 1 to February 14 for regular schools.
Schools must ensure error-free uploading as no changes will be allowed once the data is submitted. The answer book for practical exams includes an undertaking from both internal and external examiners confirming the accuracy of uploaded data.
The practical examinations will be held for all regular candidates listed in the LOC.
Schools have been told to immediately contact their regional office if any student’s name is missing from the list.