New Delhi, Aug. 10 -- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will introduce open book assessments (OBAs) for Class 9 students from the 2026-27 academic session, the governing body decided at its meeting in June.

According to the minutes, the NCFSE 2023 "underscores the need to transition from rote memorisation to competency-based learning, with OBAs serving as a catalyst for this shift."

The strategy, approved by the curriculum committee and ratified by the governing body, proposes that OBAs be part of the three pen-paper tests conducted each term in languages, mathematics, science and social science.

The decision draws on a pilot study that avoided additional reading materials and tested cross-cutting themes from the curricul...