CBSE withdraws proposed Class X passing criteria change

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has withdrawn a proposed change to the passing criteria for Class X students for the 2026-27 academic session. The board had previously suggested that students would need to secure a minimum of 33% marks separately in both external examinations and internal assessments for each subject.

Under the retained policy, students will be assessed based on their combined performance. For most subjects, which typically follow an 80:20 split between board examinations and internal assessments, a student must secure an overall 33% across both components to be declared successful.

CBSE Controller of Examinations Sanyam Bhardwaj confirmed the withdrawal of the subject-wise requirement during a webinar. While the previous criteria will remain in place for the 2026-27 session, the board noted that the requirement for separate 33% marks in each component could be considered for implementation starting from the 2027-28 academic session.