The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been entrusted with the responsibility of granting equivalence to Class 10 and Class 12 certificates issued by various school education boards across India. This decision by the Ministry of Education aims to streamline the process for admissions to higher education institutions and recruitment for government jobs. A notification regarding this change was published in the e-Gazette on September 6, 2025.

Previously, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) handled the task of granting equivalence. The Ministry of Education's recent notification supersedes the earlier notification dated November 15, 2021, which entrusted this responsibility to the AIU.

NCERT will now discharge this responsibility through PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), a National Assessment Centre established under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. This institutional mechanism is expected to ensure that the determination of equivalence is conducted through a robust and academically rigorous process, maintaining the highest educational standards.

This 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 equivalence granted by NCERT will be valid at the All India level and will automatically provide inter-se parity between School Boards in India, facilitating smooth inter-School Education Board migrations for students across the country.