What is the passing marks for NIOS 10th exam?

Students should secure minimum 33% of the total marks for passing the NIOS Class 10 exam. According to the official website of the NIOS Board, the passing criteria are as follows: 1. For the secondary course, you need to score a minimum of 33% in the aggregate. Your score can be in theory plus practical (where applicable). 2. For senior secondary, you need to score at least 33% separately in the practical and theory exams. 3. Also, your total score for each subject must be 33% in at least five subjects with one language paper.

What if I fail in the NIOS 10th exams?

If a student is unable to clear the NIOS 10th exams, then they can appear for the exams in the same year. This is under the NIOS On-Demand Examination System. Students need not worry even if they fail for the NIOS exam. NIOS provides chance for the student to appear for the subjects that they failed during the on-demand examination. With proper preparation, they can easily clear the exam.

How many marks are required in NIOS Class 10th in each subject?

NIOS total marks for each subject of class 10th is 100 with theory, internal, and practical evaluation. For example, marking scheme of English is as follows. Reading: 15 marks, Writing: 25 marks, Grammar: 30 marks, and Literature: 30 marks. Markig scheme of Maths is different. Knowledge: 25 marks, Understanding: 42 marks, Application: 10 marks, Skills: 8 marks and Practicals: 15 marks. A student is required to complete a minimum of 5 subjects with a minimum of one language and a maximum of two languages, to be eligible for certification.

Can a NIOS aspirant choose any subject combination?

Yes, a learner has the option to choose subjects of his/her choice from the list provided at NIOS website. The board has provided complete details on the official website. The NIOS Class 10 subjects are broadly divided into two categories. They are Group A and Group B. Students are required to complete a minimum of 5 subjects with a minimum of one language and a maximum of two languages, to be eligible for certification.

What are the subjects available for NIOS Class 10th?

Subjects available for students at the secondary level include Hindi English Urdu, Sanskrit, Bengali, Odia, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Kannada, Punjabi, Assamese, Nepali, Malayalam, Arabic, Persian, Tamil, Sindhi, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Science, Economics, Business Studies, Home Science; Psychology, Indian Culture and Heritage, Painting, Data Entry Operations, Accountancy, Hindustan Music, Carnatic Music, Veda Adhyan, Sanskrit Vyakaran, Bharatiya Darshan, Sanskrit Sahitya. NIOS offers 35 subjects including 18 languages for Class 10 students. The NIOS tenth class student is required to complete a minimum of 5 subjects with a minimum of one language and a maximum of two languages, to be eligible for certification. The subjects are broadly divided into two categories- Group A and Group B. Group A includes English Hindi Urdu, Bengali, Telugu, Gujarati, Kannada, Punjabi, Nepali, Assamese, Marathi, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Odia, Arabic, Persian and Tamil. Group B includes Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Science, Economics, Business Studies, Home Science, Data Entry Operations, Psychology, Indian Culture and Heritage, Accountancy, Painting, and Data Entry Operations.

What are the mediums of studies available in NIOS?

The NIOS offers a choice in the medium of studies at the secondary level in English Hindi Urdu, Marathi, Odia, Telugu, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam and Punjabi medium. Students can choose accordingly at the secondary level. The learner is free to choose any one of these mediums for studies. At Class 12 level, the course is offered only Hindi English Urdu mediums. The learner is free to choose any one of these mediums for studies.

NIOS 10th Exam Pattern 2025: Check Latest Pattern & Marking Scheme

40 Students Q&A

Updated on Jan 9, 2025 11:40 IST

By Salviya Antony, Senior Executive - Content

NIOS 10th Exam Pattern 2025: The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) will release the NIOS 10th Exam Pattern 2025 for Class 10 on the official website. NIOS Class 10 exam pattern 2025 mentions the marking scheme, duration, different types of questions asked in the exams, and more. NIOS is an Open School that provides education to a heterogeneous group of learners up to higher secondary level through open and distance learning (ODL) mode. The learning happens through printed self-instructional material, audio and video programs, personal contact program (PCP) and Tutor Marked Assignments (TMA).

Students preparing for the NIOS 10th exams must go through the NIOS 10th syllabus carefully along with the pattern of the examinations. Students must also solve the NIOS 10th sample question papers in order to have an insight into the type of questions asked in the examination. They should download the NIOS Class 10 date sheet and start preparation accordingly.

NIOS has an On-Demand Examination System (ODES) at the secondary level and offers 28 subjects in eight mediums namely Hindi, English, Urdu, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Malayalam and Odia for secondary examinations. NIOS also offers vocational subjects in combination with academic subjects at the secondary stage.

To pass the exam, a student must attend all the classes at the centre so that he/she can get complete guidance from their tutors and also attain a good score in the tutor-marked assignment as it carries 20% weightage.

The NIOS secondary course is equivalent to the tenth class and a student is required to complete a minimum of 5 subjects with a minimum of one language and a maximum of two languages, to be eligible for certification. The subjects are broadly divided into two categories- Group A and Group B.

Groups	Subjects
Group A	English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Telugu, Gujarati, Kannada, Punjabi, Nepali, Assamese, Marathi, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Odia, Arabic, Persian and Tamil.
Group B	Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Science, Economics, Business Studies, Home Science, Data Entry Operations, Psychology, Indian Culture and Heritage, Accountancy, Painting, and Data Entry Operations.

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NIOS 10th Marking Scheme

Subject	Marking scheme
English	Reading: 15 marks Writing: 25 marks Grammar: 30 marks Literature: 30 marks
Mathematics	Knowledge: 25 marks Understanding: 42 marks Application: 10 marks Skills: 8 marks Practicals: 15 marks
Social Science	Knowledge: 30 marks Understanding: 48 marks Application: 14 marks Skill: 8 marks
Economics	Knowledge: 30 Understanding: 50 Application: 20
Business Studies	Knowledge: 30 Understanding: 50 Application: 20
Home Science	Knowledge: 25 marks Understanding: 42 marks Application: 10 marks Skills: 8 marks Practicals: 15 marks
Psychology	Knowledge: 30 marks Understanding: 50 marks Application: 20 marks
Indian Culture and Heritage	Knowledge: 30 marks Understanding: 50 marks Application: 20 marks
Accountancy	Knowledge: 20 marks Understanding: 50 marks Application: 20 marks
Painting	Knowledge: 10 marks Understanding: 15 marks Application: 5 marks Practical: 30 marks
Data Entry Operations	Theory: 40 marks Practicals: 60 marks

A student has nine chances to appear in the public examinations that are spread over a period of five years. The credits gained are accumulated until the student gains the required credits for certification. NIOS has an evaluation system where the student has the freedom to answer the questions in public examinations in any one of the scheduled regional languages, although the question papers supplied are generally in English, Hindi and regional languages.

The information about examination centres and results are available online. The public examinations are held twice a year in the months of April-May and October-November. Students can appear through On-Demand Examination at the secondary level in those subjects for which students have been given admission in NIOS.

Students need to register by filling up the examination form and paying the examination fee as indicated. Examination centres are chosen by NIOS but they are normally district headquarters, sub-divisional headquarters and other available places nearest to the AIs.

After going through the entire NIOS 10th Exam Pattern, students must go through the NIOS preparation tips for Class 10th to help in strategising the study schedule better.

Also Read:

NIOS Class 10 Result 2024

NIOS 10th Hall Ticket 2025

NIOS Grading System for Class 10

The grading of subjects is made of two parts, Tutor Marked Assignments, or TMAs and the final examinations. For subjects without practicals, such as the Group A subjects, TMAs account for 20% of the grade. The final exam for most subjects will be for 3 hours. However, a few subjects, such as Home Science, have an exam duration of 2.5 hours.

The breakdown for Group A subjects without practicals will be as follows:

The final exam will be of 100 marks but will be scaled down to consider 80 as the maximum marks.

The TMAs will be of 20 marks.

Thus, 80 (exam)+ 20 (TMAs)= 100 marks total.

For the subjects with practicals, such as some of the Group B subjects, the breakdown will be as follows:

The final exam will be of 85 marks but will be scaled down to take 64 as the maximum marks.

The TMAs will be of 20 marks, but will also be scaled down to take 16 as the maximum marks.

The practicals will be of 20 marks.

Thus, 64 (exam)+ 16 (TMAs) + 20 (practicals)= 100 marks total.

For the final exams, students are mainly tested in three areas: knowledge, application and understanding. However, the weightage given to each area varies from subject to subject. Some subjects, such as science and Technology, also have an added skill component.

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NIOS Class 10 Important Resources and Books

The student has to choose the subjects and languages based on their interest and aptitude. Since there are no regular classroom teaching and coaching sessions, the students have to find resources and books on their own.

Once the admission is done, NIOS sends all the subject books by post. Alternatively, students can get in touch with the chosen study centre to collect books on time. NIOS study material and guide books are also available online. These guides come with sample model papers and previous years’ question papers.

The NIOS syllabus and sample papers of the exam are available for Hindi, English, Science, Social Science, Business Studies, Psychology, Sanskrit, Home Science, Mathematics, Indian Culture & Heritage, Economics, Painting and Data Entry Operations.

The NIOS course material is available for download on the official NIOS website. Students can find the prescribed course material in pdf format for Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Urdu, Arabic, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Science, Economics, Business Studies, Home Science, Psychology, Indian Culture and Heritage, Accountancy, Painting, Data Entry Operations, Sindhi, Hindustani Music, Carnatic Music, and Persian. Apart from these, students can find course materials for regional languages and for the above subjects in regional mediums. These are also available as links on other websites that provide coaching and learning materials.