The governing body of the Central Board of Secondary Exams on Tuesday unanimously cleared the proposal to restore Class 10 board examinations. The first such examination will be conducted in March 2018. The decision has yet to be approved by the government, after which it will be implemented, reported PTI. Currently, the students are free to choose between a board examination in Class 10 and a school-based evaluation.

The board has also decided to recommend the continuation of Sanskrit as part of the syllabus till Class 10, NDTV reported. Currently, Sanskrit is only compulsory from Class 6 to Class 8. ‘Foreign’ languages would be taught as a fourth language and made an elective subject, the report said. Former Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani had discontinued German as a third language, a decision which was widely criticised.

The board examination will carry 80% weightage, while 20% weightage will be given to school-based evaluation, PTI reported. Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar had earlier said that compulsory board exams for Class 10 students would be implemented soon.