In early April 2026, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) confirmed that Computational Thinking and Artificial Intelligence will become a compulsory subject for Class 9 from the 2027-28 academic year, with the first cohort sitting for board examinations in 2029. CBSE schools begin a structured CT and AI course for Classes 3 to 8 from the 2026-27 academic year, with curricula prepared in collaboration with academic partners including IIT Madras. CBSE governs roughly 28,000 schools in India and abroad, so the change converts the broader National Curriculum Framework 2023 ambition into an enforceable, examined obligation for the largest single school system in the country.
Who it affects: All CBSE-affiliated schools, with around 50–100 hours per year of CT/AI instruction for Classes 3 to 8 from 2026-27, then mandatory examined coursework for Classes 9 and 10 from 2027-28.
What is notably missing: No explicit ethics module is mentioned in the published structure; the focus remains on AI use and computational skills rather than critical evaluation of AI systems. Teacher capacity for delivering examined AI content at scale remains the central implementation risk.