SHILLONG, Jan 30: The Meghalaya government on Friday announced that the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) Examination for the academic year 2026 will be conducted in December.
According to an official communication issued by J.G. Kharbuli, Under Secretary to Education Department, the decision has been taken by the government and approved by the competent authority.
The Director of School Education and Literacy, Meghalaya, has been directed to instruct all secondary schools across the state to complete their academic programmes well in advance of the scheduled examination. This is aimed at ensuring adequate preparation time for students and the smooth conduct of the examination process.
The state government has emphasised timely completion of the syllabus to facilitate effective planning and conduct of the SSLC examination.
Meanwhile, more than 48,000 students across Meghalaya sat for the SSLC Examinations which began on Friday. Authorities reported a smooth and incident-free start to the statewide examination.
The examinations, which will conclude on February 11, are being held earlier than in previous years. Students sat for the English paper on the opening day, while the remaining schedule includes Science on February 2, Health and Physical Education/Computer Science/Vocational subjects on February 4, Social Science on February 6, Mathematics/Special Mathematics on February 9, and Indian Languages/Additional English on February 11.
A total of 48,793 candidates are taking the examination this year. Of these, 30,151 fall under the Regular-1 category and 16,474 under Regular-2. The remaining candidates include 495 non-regular, 271 compartmental, 1,064 private, and five improvement candidates. Female candidates significantly outnumber male candidates, with 28,583 girls compared to 20,210 boys.
The examination is being conducted across 171 centres—97 in the Shillong region and 74 in the Tura region. Altogether, 1,935 institutions are involved, including 726 affiliated schools (539 in Shillong and 187 in Tura) and 1,209 unaffiliated institutions (794 in Shillong and 415 in Tura).
When contacted, MBoSE Director Macdonald Marbaniang said that the first day proceeded without any issues.
Officials noted that the revised schedule is intended to benefit students who may not clear the exams on their first attempt by allowing them to appear for supplementary examinations. Introduced last year, the system enables candidates to rewrite individual subjects without waiting an entire academic year, thereby reducing academic disruption and stress.
