The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a prominent education board in India, which was
officially formed on November 3, 1962, to create a common platform and standard for all students in
the country.

As of July 2021, there are over 24,340 schools affiliated with the board nationally of which 307 are in
Odisha. It also has a robust presence overseas with 228 schools in 25 foreign countries. All affiliated
schools follow the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) syllabus.
The board has a wide-ranging curriculum while the exam pattern is designed to assess students in
scholastic and co-scholastic areas. The board conducts two important final exams (which are known as
board exams) for Class 10 and Class 12 students every year. These exams are crucial for students as they
lay a strong foundation in their career and determine their admissions to reputed colleges or
universities for higher education.

The promotion criteria for a Class 10 student is overall 33% of marks in all subjects (or best five if six
subjects are taken) without any requirement for a minimum theory mark. For Class 12 students it is 33%
overall in both theory and practical examinations.
For both Class 10 and 12 exams, the board includes positional grades, along with marks obtained by
the student, which shows the average performance of the students in that subject. There are nine
positional grades—A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D, E1, and E2.