India's CBSE Revises Class 9 Curriculum Rules for Students Taking 2028 Board Exams

India's Central Board of Secondary Education has clarified the curriculum for pupils studying in Class IX during the 2026–27 academic year, removing three planned components from their timetable while retaining vocational education as a compulsory curricular area.

Circular Acad-70/2026, dated October 29, applies to students who will enter Class X in 2027–28 and generally sit their board examinations in 2028. It does not change the examination arrangements for students already in Class X in the current academic year.

Under the circular, the subject called Individuals in Society and the modules on Computational Thinking and Artificial Intelligence will not form part of Class IX study for this cohort. Environmental Education will likewise not be part of their Class X curriculum in 2027–28. The board described the changes as an adjustment to the implementation schedule rather than a permanent decision to remove those subjects from future curricula.

Vocational education remains mandatory as a curricular area. Students may choose Kaushal Vikas, which schools assess internally, or one of 22 specified skill subjects. Pupils selecting a designated skill subject must take a board examination in that subject in Class X, whereas Kaushal Vikas is assessed within the school. That distinction matters: the five standard compulsory board subjects do not mean that no student can have an additional assessed skill subject.

The core board-examination subjects remain two languages, mathematics, science and social science. Students will also study other curricular areas, including a third language, art, physical education and well-being, and vocational education. The requirements therefore distinguish between the breadth of subjects studied at school and the subjects tested in the main board examinations.

The circular directs affiliated schools to share the revised scheme and accompanying assessment tables and frequently asked questions with students and families. It also retains other optional subjects available under the previous scheme. The changes are already specified for the affected cohort, but the circular does not announce an immediate change to this year's Class X examinations.