Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains has raised objections to CBSE’s draft policy for Class 10 board exams
Chandigarh: Harjot Singh Bains, the Punjab Education Minister, has voiced his disapproval of the CBSE’s proposed policy for the Class 10 board exams in the 2025–2026 academic year. He has criticized the language’s exclusion from the list of required subjects and warned that Punjabi certificates will not be accepted in Punjab if Punjabi is combined with other languages.
“CBSE released a draft policy for Class 10 for the academic session 2025-26, which stated that the examinations would be held twice—in February and May,” Bains told ANI. According to CBSE, there will be five primary subjects: Hindi, English, math, social science, and science. These five topics’ examinations will be administered as they are now.
In addition, they established two subgroups. One group speaks a foreign language in addition to its own tongue. Vocational courses are offered to the other group… On the same day, the regional and foreign language exams will take place.
“If you wish to study Mandarin and Punjabi, exams for both will be held on the same day,” he continued, criticizing the decision. You took the primary language of the state from the list of primary topics. Punjabi is absent from the list of regional and foreign languages. From its official account, BJP Punjab tweets that a clerical error occurred. Punjabi is not just the language of Punjab; it is also spoken in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. I’ve sent Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan a heartfelt letter. I said that we intended to take action against the officer who made this error and that it was not a clerical error. This is hurtful to all Punjabis.”
Bains said that the Punjab government has mandated that Punjabi be taught as a core subject in Class 10 for all boards that operate in the state.
“The Punjab government has announced that all boards in Punjab must teach Punjabi as the primary subject in Class 10 if they want to provide education in the province. It cannot be combined with any other language. If not, your CBSE certificate will be deemed invalid,” he cautioned.
All languages would remain available in the 2025–2026 academic year, according to an amendment released by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday to the draft policy on holding two board examinations for Class 10.
The national board implied that the draft’s list of languages was not final by stating that it was just suggestive. In addition to the languages listed under the “Regional and Foreign Languages” section, CBSE announced that it will continue to provide all of the following languages: Punjabi, Russian, Nepali, Limboo, Lepcha, Sindhi, Malayalam, Odia, Assamese, Kannada, Kokborok, Telugu, Arabic, and Persian.
On Tuesday, the CBSE introduced two board examinations for the 2025–2026 school year, proposing a significant change to the Class 10 examination structure.
By enabling students to raise their test results, the action seeks to lessen academic pressure and is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The Union Minister of Education presided over a high-level meeting at the Ministry of Education when the idea was considered.
A draft policy has been posted on the CBSE website, and until March 9, 2025, schools, instructors, parents, and students are encouraged to provide input. In order to lessen student stress and provide them more chances for growth, the NEP 2020 recommends conducting the Class 10 and 12 board examinations twice a year. This will emphasize competency-based evaluation rather than memorization. Exams are made more flexible and student-friendly using this method, which also lets students keep their highest score.
