Right now, it is optional for CBSE students to choose either Board exam or a school-based examination

Students of the Central Board of Secondary Exams or CBSE will have to take board exams after Class X compulsorily from 2018. The proposal was unanimously cleared by the CBSE Board of Governors today. The Board also decided to recommend that the three-language formula be continued till the board exams - which would mean that students studying Sanskrit currently till class 8 will have to study it for another two years and then sit for board exams in the subject.Languages that are "purely foreign" should be taught as a fourth language and made an elective subject", it would be recommended, indicating that the Board was sticking to the controversial move made by former minister Smriti Irani -- stripping German of foreign language status in Kendriya Vidyalayas.All that remains now are the decisions on modality and the government's approval.Currently, 2.5 crore students affiliated to the CBSE board can choose between a Board exam or a school-based examination on completion of Class X.Human Resources Development minister Prakash Javadekar had earlier said he favoured making Board exam compulsory for CBSE students as is the practice in all state boards."We will implement it from the 2017-2018 session. Not this year or in the next two months. The final decisions will be announced soon, it is under final consideration," Mr Javadekar had said last month. Last week, he had expressed confidence that a resolution to that effect will be passed.The government's move to made board exams compulsory comes after complaints from parents and academicians that educational standards have been slipping under the current system. This also makes it difficult for students to face the tough plus-two board exams, it has been said.The CBSE board exams for Class X was scrapped in 2010 and replaced with the current Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation. In an effort to reduce academic pressure on students, it provided for tests and grading throughout the year.

At today's meeting of the CBSE governing body, its members agreed that from the academic session 2017-18, board exams will be made compulsory for all students of Class X.But to reduce the pressure on students, one of the ideas being considered is to place 80 per cent weightage on the Board exams and 20 percent on school-based evaluation.