Several political leaders in Punjab raised concerns over the alleged exclusion of Punjabi from the CBSE's draft scheme for the newly proposed twice-a-year board exam format.
Responding to the criticism, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued a clarification on Wednesday, assuring that Punjabi would be included in the revised draft next year.
A senior CBSE official stated, "There is no change in the subjects offered today. This list is indicative. Next year, the Punjabi language examination will be there. All subjects offered today will continue in two board examinations next year."
Earlier, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains strongly condemned CBSE for omitting Punjabi from the draft scheme. He alleged that the board was attempting to remove Punjabi as a second language from the Class 10 and 12 board exams.
"We strongly object to 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 in CBSE for the rest of the nation, as it is spoken and read across multiple states," Bains said.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Parambans Romana also criticized the central government, calling the omission of Punjabi a deliberate move to suppress the language.
"Why have you left out Punjabi in the new curriculum? Is this part of a conspiracy? I want to ask the BJP leaders—are you part of this conspiracy? This is an extremely troubling fact that you can't fight for your own mother tongue? Look at the way Tamil Nadu CM is fighting against the NEP," he remarked.
The CBSE notification included regional languages such as Rai, Urung, Tamang, Sherpa, Sanskrit, Urdu, Marathi, Gujarati, Manipuri, Tibetan, Bhoti, Telugu, Bodo, Tangkhul, Bhutia, Kashmiri, Mizo, and Thai but did not mention Punjabi.
The controversy erupted a day after CBSE proposed a major reform in the Class 10 examination system, introducing two board exams per year from the 2025-26 academic session.
This move, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, aims to ease academic pressure and provide students with opportunities to improve their scores.