New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS): Over 31 lakh students from Class 10 and 12 will appear in board examinations this year at nearly 5,000 centres in the country and abroad, the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) said here on Wednesday.

According to CBSE, 18,27,472 students from Class 10 and 12,87,359 from Class 12 have registered to appear for the examinations this year.

For Class 12, the examinations will begin on February 15 and conclude on April 4. For Class 10, it will start on February 21 and end on March 29.

To ease the pressure on students, the board announced that there will be 33 per cent more internal choice questions and it will also give "consideration" to "creative answers".

The CBSE also announced it will try to declare results one week earlier than last year.

Over three lakh people, which will include superintendents, invigilators and nodal officers, will oversee the examinations.

After drawing flak last year over the "paper-leak" incident, the CBSE urged the media to confirm with the board before printing any "sensitive news".