New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has reaffirmed that Odia, along with other regional languages and subjects, will continue to be offered for the Class X board examinations in the 2025-26 academic year. This clarification comes after concerns were raised about certain languages being excluded in the draft guidelines for conducting board exams twice a year.
The controversy arose when Punjab’s Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains expressed concerns over Punjabi not being mentioned in the draft policy released on Tuesday. Responding to the objections, CBSE issued a statement on Wednesday, clarifying that the list in the draft was only indicative and not exhaustive.
“All the subjects and languages currently offered will continue to be available for the 2025-26 board exams,” CBSE confirmed in its official release. The board further specified that, in addition to the languages listed in the draft policy, students would have the option to choose Punjabi (004), Russian (021), Nepali (024), Limboo (025), Lepcha (026), Sindhi (008), Malayalam (012), Odia (013), Assamese (014), Kannada (015), Kokborok (091), Telugu (007), Arabic (016), and Persian (023).
CBSE reiterated the commitment of the Ministry of Education to promoting linguistic diversity and ensuring that regional languages remain a key part of the curriculum. The introduction of a two-exam system will not impact the availability of these languages, reinforcing the government’s focus on providing students with a broad and inclusive education.