The Central Board of Secondary Education is administering Class 12th board exams 2026 from February 17 to April 10, 2026, across designated exam centres in India and abroad. This year, the board is witnessing one of the largest participation numbers in recent years, with around 20 lakh students likely appearing for the CBSE Senior Secondary exams.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has started an on-screen evaluation system for Class 12 board exams 2026. As per the board, the new system has been opted to make the assessment faster, more transparent, and efficient.
"In this system, answer sheets are scanned and uploaded to a digital platform called CBSE Onmark (cbse.onmark.co.in), where teachers evaluate them using a computer," the board said.
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The CBSE Class 12 exams are conducted in CBSE-affiliated schools across the country as well as in 26 countries abroad. In 2025, over 16.92 lakh students appeared for the CBSE 12th board exams. The number is expected to touch around 20 lakh in 2026. The exam cycle will involve the evaluation of a massive volume of answer sheets and participation across multiple subject streams. Therefore, the board has also introduced the CBSE 12th On-Screen marking system.
The number of candidates appearing for the CBSE Class 12 board exams continues to rise every year. Nearly 20 lakh candidates are taking the CBSE Class 12 board exams 2026, making it one of the largest batches in recent years. Check the data provided in the table below:
Year | Total students appeared |
|---|---|
2026 | Around 20,00,000 (exact figure awaited) |
2025 | 16,92,794 |
2024 | 16,21,224 |
2023 | 16,60,511 |
To understand the scale of the CBSE board exams, it is helpful to look at the data from the previous year. The evaluation of over 1 crore answer sheets demonstrates the magnitude of the examination process conducted annually by CBSE.
Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
Exam duration | February 15 to April 4, 2025 |
Students registered | 17,88,165 |
Subjects offered | 120 |
Actual exam days | 38 days |
Answer books evaluated | 1,07,28,990 |
Pass percentages and student participation numbers over the years show how consistently large the CBSE exam system has been.
Year | Total appeared students | Overall Pass % | Boys' pass % | Girls' pass % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2025 | 16,92,794 | 88.39 | 85.70 | 91.64 |
2024 | 16,21,224 | 87.98 | 91.52 | 85.12 |
2023 | 16,60,511 | 87.33 | 84.67 | 90.68 |
2022 | 14,35,366 | 92.71 | 91.25 | 94.54 |
2021 | 13,69,745 | 99.37 | 99.67 | 99.13 |
2020 | 11,92,961 | 88.78 | 86.19 | 92.15 |
2019 | 12,05,484 | 83.4 | 79.4 | 88.7 |
The number of schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education has grown steadily in recent years, which naturally leads to more students reaching the Class 12 board exam stage.
Many parents prefer the CBSE curriculum because it follows a national-level syllabus and is closely aligned with major competitive examinations in India. A large number of international schools outside India have adopted the CBSE curriculum, allowing Indian and foreign students studying abroad to appear for the same board exams.
More students are now choosing to continue their studies after Class 10, leading to a larger number reaching the Class 12 board exam stage.
The expansion of private and government CBSE-affiliated schools in urban as well as semi-urban areas has also contributed to the steady rise in student participation.
Increased awareness about the importance of higher education and professional courses has encouraged more students to complete their Class 12 education through the CBSE board.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Around 20 lakh students are appearing for the CBSE Class 12 board exams 2026.
Apart from India, CBSE conducts examinations in 26 countries abroad through affiliated schools.
On Question asked by student community
Dear Student,
If you have 6 subjects with Hindi as an additional subject and you have failed in one compartment subject, your additional subject which is Hindi can be considered pass in the board examination.
Dear Student,
Please go through the link to check 12th CBSE Chemistry question paper: https://school.careers360.com/boards/cbse/cbse-previous-year-question-papers-class-12-chemistry
The Second Language English paper for the 2025-26 academic session (Summative Assessment 2 or SA-2 phase) focused on comprehension, grammar, and literature.
The second language English paper is divided into four main sections, totalling 80 Marks (for most state boards like Karnataka)
The Class 9th Social Science (SST) annual exam 2025-26 follows a standardised structure across CBSE and most State Boards. The exams for most of the boards are being held in February- March 2026. Check the marking scheme here for the SST exams
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Section |
Type of Questions |
Number of Questions |
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Dear Student,
You can check Class 12 Physics CBSE Hindi medium PYQs here:
CBSE Class 12 Previous Year Question Papers With Solutions PDF Download
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