Birth of the CBSE exams: A fascinating history  

We associate CBSE exams with the central government of India. But interestingly, it was neither for all of India, nor did it belong to the central government, when it started on its long journey to becoming the most populous exam board of our country. We have outlined that journey below. Do take a look at the little known birth story of a very well-known exam.  

How was the CBSE board formed?  

We have to travel back in time to pre-independence India. This is how it all started:  

• Indians had been pressing the British to allow local exam boards from the beginning of the 1900s. As a result, the Calcutta University Commission (1917-19) was set up.  
• Boards of Secondary Education started coming up in Indian states. The first one was the United Provinces (U. P.) Board of High School and Intermediate Education. 
• The area covered under the UP board included present UP, UK, Haryana, and the princely states of Rajputana, Central India, and Gwalior. This was too huge! 
• The UP Board said they won’t be able to handle so many students beyond 1927 

• The Government of India suggested each state under UP can have its own board, or there can be one common board for all states  

That is how the Board of High School and Intermediate Education was established in 1929. It managed the states mentioned above and was headquartered in Ajmer. Though no one knew it, this was also the beginning of the CBSE board.   

How did the Ajmer Board become the CBSE Board?  

We have to jump to July 1, 1962 now. That’s when the Ajmer board was merged with the Delhi board. Following this, India’s Union Territories were also put under what turned out to be the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The Ministry of Education  has been in charge of the CBSE Board since the 1960’s.  

Does the CBSE Board have any attachments to history now? 

We talked about the Ajmer Board above. This board had a beautifully constructed office in Ajmer. Though the office of CBSE has been in Delhi since the 1960’s, the registered office till date is the historical old building of Ajmer where it all began.