Bhagwant Mann-led State Govt Makes Punjabi Mandatory in All Schools of Punjab

Punjabi Mandatory in Punjab Schools Latest News Today: In a significant move to uphold the prominence of the Punjabi language, the Punjab government has made it compulsory for all schools in the state—regardless of their educational board—to teach Punjabi as a main subject.

Punjabi Made a Mandatory Subject Across Boards

Under the new directive, schools affiliated with the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) must include Punjabi as a main subject in their curriculum.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains announced that the AAP-led state government has issued a fresh notification, making Punjabi a mandatory subject for Class 10 under any board operating in Punjab.

"If Punjabi is not taught as a main subject, the certificate will be considered null and void. This will be applicable to all educational boards in Punjab," Bains stated.

Allegations Against CBSE for Dropping Punjabi

The move follows Bains' allegations against CBSE and the Union government for excluding Punjabi from the list of subjects for Class 10 board exams in its new draft policy.

According to Bains, the CBSE draft norms for Class 10 board exams (effective 2026) included languages such as Sanskrit, Urdu, Marathi, Gujarati, Manipuri, Bodo, Kashmiri, Mizo, Thai, and even foreign languages like German and French but omitted Punjabi from the list of regional languages.

Calling it a "conspiracy against Punjab, Punjabi, and Punjabiyat," Bains strongly objected to the alleged exclusion. He further criticized the reclassification of subjects, where science, maths, social science, Hindi, and English were listed as main subjects, while regional and foreign languages were grouped separately.

"This clearly indicates that Punjabi is not being treated as a main subject, which is unacceptable," he said.

CBSE Clarifies No Changes in Subject List

Amid the controversy, CBSE officials issued a clarification, stating that the draft list was merely indicative and no language had been removed.

"There is no change in the list of subjects currently offered. The draft policy was indicative, and all existing subjects, including Punjabi, will continue to be available for Class 10 board exams," said CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj.

CBSE also reaffirmed that the board will continue to offer Punjabi alongside other regional and foreign languages, including Russian, Nepali, Limboo, Lepcha, Sindhi, Malayalam, Odia, Assamese, Kannada, Kokborok, Telugu, Arabic, and Persian.

With the Punjab government reinforcing Punjabi education and CBSE clarifying its stance, the debate over language preservation in education continues.

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