CBSE rejects ’baseless’ reports suggesting 15% syllabus cut for Classes 10 and 12, plans to conduct open-book exams

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday rejected reports suggesting reduction in the syllabus of class 10 and 12 by 15 percent for 2025 board exam and plans to conduct open-book exams in select subjects.

The board issued a clarification after some news outlets reported that CBSE has introduced reduction in the syllabus for the 2025 board exams.

The reports claimed that the changes were to be made in order to reduce stress of the students.

However, the board said that it has not taken any such policy decision, terming such reports baseless.

“The board has not issued any such notice or made any changes to the evaluation system or examination policy and information related to the Board's policy decisions is only published through the Board's official website or through authorised channels,” said the board.

CBSE also clarified that it has not made any changes to its examination system or internal assessment system, nor has any official notification been issued in this regard.

The board further added that information related to the Board's policy decisions is only published through the Board's official website or through authorised channels.

Earlier this month, CBSE withdrew affiliation of 21 schools and downgraded six schools from senior secondary to secondary level after a surprise inspection at the schools in Rajasthan and Delhi in September during which several lapses were found.

Of the 21 schools whose affiliation has been withdrawn, 16 are in Delhi while five of them are in Rajasthan's coaching hubs -- Kota and Sikar.

"The practice of dummy or non-attending admissions contradicts the core mission of school education, compromising students' foundational growth. To address this issue, we are taking a decisive action to combat the proliferation of dummy schools and send a clear message to all affiliated institutions to resist the lure of accepting dummy or non-attending admissions," CBSE Secretary Himanshu Gupta said.

He said the vital observations of the surprise inspection committees regarding the irregularities observed during the inspections were communicated as a report to the respective schools.

Earlier this year, the CBSE cancelled the affiliation of 20 schools for enrolling dummy students and ineligible candidates.