The Centre has entrusted the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) with the responsibility of granting certificates equivalent to those of the Secondary (Class 10) and Senior Secondary (Class 12) certificates awarded by various School Education Boards in India, officials said on Friday, September 26.
This is aimed at facilitating smooth inter-school education board migrations, they added.
An official release from the Education Ministry said, “This responsibility will be exercised for the purpose of admission of students to higher education institutions and employment under the Central Government, State Governments and Union Territories.”
It said the notification was published in the e-Gazette on September 6, 2025 by the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Education Ministry. “The direction supersedes its earlier one dated November 15, 2021, wherein the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) was entrusted with this responsibility,” it added.
Under the new arrangement, NCERT will discharge its responsibility through the National Assessment Centre, Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH), which has been established as per the provisions of the National Education Policy 2020, the Ministry said.
“This institutional mechanism will ensure that equivalence determination is conducted through a robust and academically rigorous process that maintains the highest educational standards,” it added.
The new system applies to Central Government, State Government and private Indian School Boards established by an Act of Parliament or State legislature, executive orders of the Central Government or State Governments, or by statutory bodies and recognised institutions having the mandate to do so.
“The notification ensures that the equivalence granted by NCERT shall automatically be considered as inter-se parity between the Boards in India, thereby facilitating smooth inter-School Education Board migrations for students across the country,” the statement said.