Education Minister Harjot : In a bold and unwavering stance, the Punjab Government has once again pushed the central government to take immediate action for the reinstatement of Punjabi as a main subject in the CBSE curriculum for Class 10 in Punjab. Additionally, it has demanded the inclusion of Punjabi in the list of regional languages across India, ensuring students nationwide have the option to study it.
Punjab School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, in a strongly-worded letter to Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday, expressed strong opposition and deep resentment over the deliberate sidelining of Punjabi in the recently proposed CBSE exam pattern for Class 10 (2025-26). He urged the central government to intervene, calling it a direct attack on Punjab’s linguistic and cultural identity.
This letter follows the Punjab government’s notification issued on February 26, 2025, making Punjabi a mandatory main subject in all schools across the state, irrespective of the educational board. The notification further states that education certificates will be considered invalid if Punjabi is not included as a main subject.
In his letter, Education Minister Harjot pointed out that the new scheme lists only five main subjects—Mathematics, Science, Social Science, English, and Hindi—for regular board exams, effectively removing Punjabi from this category. Instead, it has been relegated to an optional language, with its exam scheduled alongside foreign languages on a single day. He strongly condemned this move as an unacceptable attempt to marginalize Punjabi.
Education Minister Harjot further highlighted that while foreign languages like German, French, Thai, and Japanese were included in the curriculum, Punjabi was initially excluded from the list of regional and foreign languages. It was only after his strong protests and media pressure that CBSE acknowledged the issue. Calling this omission a deliberate effort to weaken Punjabi, he demanded a full investigation into the matter.
Emphasizing that Punjabi is one of India’s most widely spoken languages and an integral part of Punjab’s cultural heritage, Education Minister Harjot reminded the government of Punjab’s sacrifices for the nation—both during the freedom struggle and in safeguarding national security.
Education Minister Harjot stated that the exclusion of Punjabi has deeply hurt the sentiments of Punjabis and cannot be dismissed as a mere clerical error. Through his letter, he demanded an immediate rollback of the proposed changes, terming them discriminatory and in violation of state law. He also sought a clear assurance that Punjabi will be reinstated as a main subject in CBSE schools across Punjab.