NEW DELHI – PARAKH, an independent assessment body under the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), has established an expert committee. The committee will create a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to standardize Class 10 and 12 certificates from all education boards across India, impacting Board Exams from 2026 onwards.
This initiative aims to harmonize learning and assessment standards. It will also provide a level playing field for students appearing in entrance examinations, addressing past perceptions that favored students from central boards like CBSE.
New Equivalence Mandate
On September 6 , the Education Ministry assigned PARAKH the responsibility of granting equivalence to Class 10 and 12 certificates. This task was previously handled by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). PARAKH stands for Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development.
India currently has approximately 66 recognized school education boards. These include national, state, and private boards, all conducting Class 10 and 12 examinations.
Addressing Disparities
PARAKH CEO Indrani Bhaduri highlighted significant disparities among these boards. “There are wide disparities between them with regard to curriculum design, curriculum transaction, and curriculum evaluation. There is no mechanism or statutory provision for establishing equivalency amongst them,” Bhaduri stated.
PARAKH has actively worked towards achieving board equivalence since its establishment. In July 2024 , the body released a report titled “Establishing Equivalence Across Education Boards.” This report analyzed 34 boards, examining their functioning, question banks, and difficulty levels, revealing substantial variations.
The body is also collaborating with various boards to develop common question banks. This effort seeks to introduce uniformity across the examination landscape.
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
The expert committee, comprising diverse stakeholders, will draft the new SOP. This SOP will ensure all school boards adhere to key educational frameworks and laws. These include the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009, the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), the National Education Policy (NEP), and teacher qualification standards set by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
In December 2024 , CBSE also urged the ministry to intervene with international boards. CBSE sought to mandate boards like The International Baccalaureate (IB) and The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) or Cambridge to follow the RTE Act and other state laws. India hosts 205 IB schools and over 700 schools offering Cambridge programs.
“The SOP shall ensure that the due diligence process is rigorous and the applicant Board is having a clear-cut scheme/bye-laws of examination and affiliation and is following all other extant laws/rules/regulations/processes applicable to School Boards while granting such equivalence,” Bhaduri confirmed.
Objectives of Equivalence
PARAKH outlines several primary objectives for this equivalence initiative:
- Ensure fair and transparent recognition of certificates issued by all Boards.
- Harmonize learning and assessment standards in line with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE 2023 ).
- Facilitate student mobility between Boards, States, and across school types.
- Provide students with a level playing field for entrance examinations and future opportunities.
- Enable data-driven equivalence decisions using multi-domain indicators.
- Strengthen policy coherence across Boards and the University Grants Commission (UGC).
- Reduce administrative bottlenecks in admissions and employment processes.
Historically, Indian boards have granted point-to-point equivalence for transfers. However, individual boards and universities retain the right to set additional eligibility conditions for admissions to Class 11, undergraduate programs, or professional courses.
“In other words, equivalence is only equating two exams and eligibility may have additional conditions prescribed by the respective Board/University,” Bhaduri clarified, emphasizing the distinction between certificate parity and admission requirements.