Important
The Grade 10 SLC examination is no longer held. The Education Act (Eighth Amendment) of 2016 replaced it with the Secondary Education Examination (SEE), and the first SEE was held in March 2017. Grade 10 students in Nepal now sit the SEE, run by the National Examination Board. The name School Leaving Certificate now applies to the Grade 12 qualification instead.
Overview
The School Leaving Certificate (SLC) was Nepal's national examination at the end of Grade 10. It began in 1934, when it was run under the supervision of Patna University in India; Nepal began running the examination itself in 1946. For more than 80 years it was the main benchmark for finishing secondary school, and it was often called the "Iron Gate" because failing one subject meant failing the whole examination and losing a year.
Before the 2016 reforms, the SLC was run by the Office of the Controller of Examinations under the Ministry of Education. A letter grading system was introduced in 2015, and the 2016 amendment to the Education Act renamed the Grade 10 examination the SEE and moved School Leaving Certificate status to Grade 12.
The official examination sites describe the current SEE rather than the old SLC, so this page relies on a Nepali news explainer.
Exam pattern
| Feature | SLC (former) |
|---|---|
| Level | End of Grade 10 |
| Run by | Office of the Controller of Examinations, Ministry of Education |
| Marking in early years | Percentage marks, with 32% overall needed to pass |
| Result | Pass or fail; failing one subject meant failing the examination |
| Reform | Letter grading introduced in 2015, then replaced by the SEE from 2017 |
In its early decades the examination relied heavily on memorised, theory-based answers. Over time application-based questions and practical assessment were added.
What replaced it
The SEE is now run by the National Examination Board through its Office of the Controller of Examinations (Class 10) in Sanothimi, Bhaktapur. As described in 2026:
Students take compulsory subjects, including English, Nepali, Mathematics, Science and Technology, and Social Studies, plus two optional subjects. A technical stream offers vocational subjects instead.
Most compulsory subjects are marked 75 for the written examination and 25 for internal practical assessment by the school.
Results use a 4.0 letter-grade scale, from A+ (90% or more) down to D (35% to 39.9%). A student who scores below 35% in the written part of a subject gets NG (Non-Graded) and cannot move on to Grade 11 until that subject is cleared.
Students with NG in up to two subjects can take a grade increment (supplementary) examination, usually held one to two months after results.
For 2026, the SEE ran from 2 to 12 April 2026.
Is the SLC still held?
No. The Grade 10 SLC was replaced by the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) under the 2016 amendment to the Education Act, and the first SEE was held in March 2017.
What does SLC mean in Nepal today?
After the 2016 reform, School Leaving Certificate status moved to Grade 12. The Grade 10 qualification is now the SEE.