"Nervous yet excited": Students kick off CBSE 2026 board exams across country

New Delhi [India], February 17 (ANI): Lakhs of students across the country appeared for the first day of the CBSE Class 10 and 12 Board Exams on Tuesday. Students arriving with their admit cards and stationery mark the start of a month-long examination.
At Moti Bagh's Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, parents were seen dropping off their children, offering last-minute advice and moral support for the first paper of the session.
While the atmosphere at the centres remained tense, many students expressed a mix of anticipation and confidence in their preparation.
Speaking to ANI, a student, Jamuna Thapa, said, "I am feeling nervous, yet excited to try something new. Preparation is going quite well. We'll know when we see the exam paper. I've also taken coaching for this and have extra classes. It feels good that we've been given the opportunity to have two board exams. Today, the first exam is math."
Families have also played a crucial role in the months leading up to the examinations. A student's parent, Dilip Kumar, said, "Today is my daughter's first exam. We had prepared her well. I used to ask her in the morning and evening, and as soon as she returned from duty, about how her preparation was going. I used to tell her my exam-related experience. I had also arranged online coaching for her. Now let's see what happens and how she will give her exam. Only after giving the exam, will we know how much preparation has been done and how much more needs to be."
Siddharth, a student from Karnataka's Bengaluru expressed confidence in doing well, saying that he has studied a lot throughout the year.
He said, "It's very nice. I'm very confident about my exam. I've done all the hard work. We'll see what happens. It's all in God's hands now... Today is our maths paper... I have a tuition teacher. I've been studying a lot throughout the whole year. I'm very confident about it."
Another student, Advait Chetan, said, "Today is our first Math paper, our first board exam. I'm pretty much confident. It's the first exam, so it's probably going to be a little easier. So let's see how it goes... It's the same exam that we write in school, but the centre is different. There are a few more protocols, such as doing the OMR sheet. Other than that, it's the same. Excitement is there, but I'm a little nervous... I am confident I will get good marks. Even if it comes a little less, we will have to accept that. Plus, this time there are second boards also. We can also give the second attempt."
Meanwhile, on Monday, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced that appearing in the first Class 10 Board examination is compulsory for all students, and those who miss three or more subjects in the first exam will be ineligible to appear in the second examination. In a letter issued on Saturday, CBSE clarified that attendance for the first examination is mandatory.
It issued the clarification after it received several requests from students regarding their inability to attend the 1st Board Examination for various reasons, and they may be allowed to attend the 2nd Board Examination.
In such a situation, the letter stated that it is mandatory for all students to appear for the first Board examination and that all passed and eligible students will be allowed to improve their performance in any three subjects from Science, Mathematics, Social Science, and Languages. (ANI)