CISCE Class 10 boards fromFebruary 15; Class 12 from February 9

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) on Tuesday announced the timetable for its 2027 board examinations, with Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) (Class 10) exams scheduled to begin on February 15 and the Indian School Certificate (ISC) (Class 12) exams on February 9.India NewsThe Class 10 examinations will conclude on March 31, while Class 12 examinations will continue till April 8, according to the detailed schedules issued by the council on November 10. The results of both examinations are expected to be declared in April or May 2027.Nearly 380,000 candidates are expected to appear for the two examinations, including nearly 270,000 candidates for ICSE and over 110,000 for ISC. The ICSE examinations will be conducted across 2,835 centres, while the ISC examinations will be held at 1,477 centres in India and overseas. The council has listed 76 subjects/papers for ICSE and 60 for ISC. The ICSE examination will see candidates from 3,106 affiliated schools, while the ISC examination will have candidates from 1,651 schools.For both examinations, CISCE has provided 15 minutes of additional reading time over and above the duration specified for writing the paper. The instructions state, “In addition to the time indicated in the timetable for writing the paper, 15 minutes time is given for reading the Question Paper.”ICSE examination timings revisedA significant change in this year’s schedule concerns the starting time of ICSE examinations. The writing time for most papers has been advanced by 45 minutes compared with the 2026 examination schedule. The reading time, which earlier began at 10.45 am, will now start at 10am, with writing scheduled to begin at 10.15 am instead of 11am, and candidates must be seated in the examination hall by 9.45 am. For examinations of certain subjects scheduled to begin at 9 am, candidates must be seated by 8.30 am, with reading time starting at 8.45 am, the council said.For ICSE students, English Language (English Paper 1) will be the first examination on February 15 at 10.15 am. This will be followed by Art Paper 4 (Applied Art) on February 16 at 9 am and Literature in English (English Paper 2) on February 18 at 10.15 am.The Mathematics examination is scheduled for February 22, followed by History and Civics on February 26 and Geography on March 1. Hindi will be held on March 4.The Science papers will be conducted separately, with Physics scheduled for March 8, Chemistry for March 12 and Biology for March 15. Examinations for various elective and vocational subjects, including Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, Computer Applications, Environmental Applications, Fashion Designing and Hospitality Management, will also be held during the period.The writing duration for several papers is 3 hours, while a few have 2-hour duration.ISC examinations to begin at 2 pm for most subjectsFor ISC students, the examinations will begin on February 9 with Environmental Science and Western Music Paper 1 (Theory), both scheduled for 2 pm. English Paper 1 (English Language) will be held on February 10.The Mathematics examination is scheduled for March 1, while Chemistry Paper 1 (Theory) will be held on February 24. Physics Paper 1 (Theory) is scheduled for March 8, followed by Biology Paper 1 (Theory) on March 15.Other major papers include Accountancy on February 26, Business Studies on March 11, Geography on March 12, History on March 19 and Commerce on March 29. Psychology will be held on March 31, Political Science on April 2 and Legal Studies on April 8.While most ISC papers will begin at 2 pm, certain Art examinations will be conducted at 9 am. For papers beginning at 2pm, the reading time will start at 1.45 pm and candidates must be seated by 1.30 pm. For 9 am papers, reading time will begin at 8.45 am and candidates must be seated by 8.30 am. The writing duration of all the papers is 3 hours.The council has also emphasised punctuality, stating, “Be seated in the Examination Hall / Room thirty minutes before the time fixed for the start of the Examination in the subject. Absolute punctuality is essential.”AI-enabled smart glasses, wearable devices prohibitedIn a set of common examination-day instructions, CISCE has explicitly prohibited candidates from carrying AI-enabled smart glasses, augmented reality (AR) glasses, Bluetooth-enabled spectacles and other AI-assisted wearable devices into examination halls.The list of prohibited items also includes smartwatches, mobile phones, wireless earbuds, earphones, microphones, fitness and health bands, cameras, smart rings and wearable communication devices. Scanner pens, reading pens, translation pens, smart pens, recording pens and camera pens have also been prohibited.Candidates will not be allowed to carry textbooks, photocopies of textual material, notes, chits, wallets, currency notes or handbags into the examination hall.The council has said that candidates, along with examination functionaries present in the examination hall or room, will remain under CCTV surveillance during the examinations. The instructions state that heads of examination centre schools “may frisk the candidates to ensure that they are not in possession of items not permitted to be carried to the Examination Hall/Room”.Candidates will be permitted to carry their CISCE-issued admission cards and specified stationery items, including blue or black pens, pencils, scales, erasers, sharpeners and drawing instruments.While calculators are not permitted in ICSE examination halls, ISC candidates have been allowed to use specified scientific calculators.The ISC instructions state: “You are permitted to use Casio fx-82 MS (Scientific Calculator) /calculators of other makes with similar functions /calculators with only basic functions.”However, the council has clarified that calculators with features allowing retrieval of information during the examination will not be permitted.