Minister Alleges Punjabi Dropped From Class 10 Board Exams Draft Norms; List Indicative: CBSE

The CBSE officials clarified that the draft norms do not mention 13 other languages and reiterated that they would continue to be offered.

New Delhi:The Punjab government on Wednesday alleged that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had dropped Punjabi from the list of subjects for the Class 10 Board exams in the new draft norms while the board officials maintained that the list was only indicative and no subjects would be dropped.

The CBSE officials clarified that the draft norms do not mention 13 other languages and reiterated that they would continue to be offered. The 13 other languages are Russian, Nepali, Limboo, Lepcha, Sindhi, Malayalam, Odia, Assamese, Kannada, Kokborok, Telugu, Arabic and Persian, they said. The CBSE on Tuesday approved draft norms for conducting the Class 10 Board exams twice a year.

The draft norms will now be put in the public domain and the stakeholders can submit their feedback by March 9, following which the policy will be finalised. Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains alleged that the new policy was attempting to drop Punjabi from the subjects' list and claimed that his government would not tolerate any attack on the language.

"We strongly object to the CBSE's new exam pattern scheme which attempts to erase Punjabi. Punjabi must be designated as the main language in Punjab and, further, be included as a regional language for the rest of the nation as it is spoken and read across multiple states. Any attack on Punjabi will not be tolerated," Bains said in a video shared on X.

CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj, however, said there would be no change in the list of subjects. "There is no change in the list of subjects offered at present. The list in the draft policy is indicative. All subjects offered at present will continue in the Class 10 Board exams in both phases," he said.

According to the draft norms, Class 10 students will be able to take the CBSE Board exam twice in an academic session or choose between the two -- one in February and another in May -- from 2026 onwards. The first phase will be held from February 17 to March 6 and the second between May 5 and 20. Candidates will also have the option to appear for both phases.

Additionally, students will be allowed to skip specific subjects in the second attempt if they are satisfied with their performance in the first. They can skip particular subjects in the first phase as well.

The National Education Policy (NEP) recommended allowing all students to take exams on up to two occasions during any given school year to eliminate the "high stakes" aspect of the Board exams.

The CBSE has clarified that no separate supplementary exam would be conducted under this system. Instead, the second phase will serve as the supplementary exam for those students who want to improve their scores.