CBSE announces special Class 12 re-exams for gulf students

Thousands of Class 12 students in the UAE and other GCC countries who missed their board exams earlier this year because of regional tensions will get another chance to take the papers, India’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced.

In a notification dated September 15, 2026, CBSE said it will hold special examinations for students in the Middle East whose Class 12 board exams could not be conducted in 40 subjects, including 20 academic and 20 skill-based subjects.

CBSE said the decision follows the order of the Supreme Court in CWP-815 of 2026. The board will now conduct exams for all Class 12 candidates in West Asian countries whose results were earlier declared under the assessment scheme.

What happened earlier

The issue began in March, when exams could not be held as planned in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE due to regional conditions linked to the US-Israel-Iran conflict.

To avoid leaving students without results, CBSE introduced an assessment scheme on March 27 to calculate marks for the affected candidates. Results for regular students were declared on May 13, along with the rest of the country, while private candidates received their results soon after.

At that time, CBSE said students unhappy with their assessment-based results could later get a chance to sit the actual exams for the cancelled subjects, if conditions allowed it.

Supreme Court order

That promise is now being carried out after legal action from a Supreme Court petition filed by Gulf and West Asian Class 12 students earlier this year.

In July, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and CBSE on the petition. The case was heard by a bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe. The petition sought relief for students, including grace marks, uncapped special exams, a better-of-two score option, and lower admission cut-offs under schemes such as DASA and CIWG.

Following the court process, CBSE has decided to go ahead with exams in the 40 cancelled subjects for all eligible Class 12 candidates in the Middle East.

Prof. Dr Ram Shankar, Director of CBSE Regional Office and Centre of Excellence, Dubai, said the move is good news for students.

“It is a very positive decision in the interests of the students. The eligible students can now reappear for the cancelled exams as decided by the Board,” he said.

Who can appear

The special exams are for regular and private candidates who submitted their exam forms for the 2026 main exams and whose results were declared under the assessment scheme.

Students can choose the subjects they want to retake. The marks they get in these exams will be final and will replace the earlier assessment-based result.

Students who were absent for the original March exams, for any reason, will not be allowed to appear this time. New candidates who were not already registered for the 2026 main exams also cannot apply.

How to register

Regular and private candidates can submit their List of Candidates or exam forms from September 22 to September 26.

Students must submit the forms themselves. CBSE will provide a link on its website for the process.

The board has clearly said there will be no extension to this registration period under any circumstances.

Important points for students

There will be no exam fee for the retake.

The exam centre will remain the same as before.

No subject change will be allowed after the form is submitted.

Exams will not be repeated in any subject that has already been conducted by the board.

Once registration closes, CBSE will share the exam dates and full timetable.

CBSE has also said there will be no post-result declaration facility this time, which means the results will not be revised again after this round.

The board has asked schools in the affected countries to share the notice with all eligible students and guide them through the process. Any further decision on the matter will be taken by CBSE and will be binding on all concerned.

Subjects on offer

The 40 subjects available for retake include a mix of academic and skill-based options.

Academic subjects include history, political science, economics, mathematics, applied mathematics, biology, business studies, English core, computer science, artificial intelligence and data science.

Skill-based and vocational subjects include banking, insurance, tourism, healthcare, marketing and food production, among others.

The special exams will be coordinated through schools and Indian missions across the region, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Muscat, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Tehran.