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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has clarified that there is no change in the subjects currently offered for Class 10 board examinations, following concerns over the exclusion of Punjabi (code 004) from a newly issued draft policy.
“This list is indicative,” said the CBSE’s Controller of Examination Sanyam Bhardwaj, emphasising that all subjects presently available to students will continue in the two-board examination system.
The clarification comes in response to criticism after the latest draft policy did not mention Punjabi among the listed second languages, while other regional languages were included.
“Languages like Spanish, German, Tanghkul, Japanese have been included as regional language/ foreign language group but our very own Indian language “Punjabi” language has not not been mentioned,” a statement from the letter to the CBSE Chairman read.
Over one lakh students are studying in CBSE-affiliated schools in Punjab. “No one can imagine to be a scholar in absence of learning and speaking his mother tongue,” it added.
The draft, intended for stakeholder feedback, has been made available on the CBSE website for comments from schools, teachers, parents, and students.
On Tuesday night, the Board shared draft norms for the two board exams for Class 10 students, according to which students would be able to take the exam once or both times. If they choose to attempt the paper in the second session, they can “opt-out” of subjects or papers that they would not want to appear again.
As per the proposed CBSE 2026 datesheet, the first phase of the Class 10 board exams will be held between February 17 and March 6 and the second will be conducted from May 5 to May 20. In both cases, the exam period has been compressed to 16-18 days, about half the current duration of 32 days.
