CBSE announces professional development framework based on STEM education for school heads, teachers

NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) training unit has announced a mandatory professional development framework for school heads and teachers in all CBSE-affiliated schools. The new directives reinforce CBSE’s commitment to implement the national education policy (NEP) 2020, and are aligned with national professional standards for teachers (NPST) to establish benchmarks of quality and accountability in teacher development.

According to the CBSE notice, as part of the annual continuous professional development (CPD) mandate, all teachers in CBSE-affiliated schools will have to undergo a minimum of 50 hours of training every year, including 25 hours through CBSE or government regional training institutes and the other 25 hours through in-house or school complex-based training. The training will be focused on the following key standards as per NPST:

• Core values and ethics – 12 hours
• Knowledge and practice – 24 hours
• Professional growth and development – 14 hours

“Further, in a forward-looking step aligned with India’s growing knowledge economy, CBSE has declared STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) as the annual training theme for 2025. The focus is on empowering teachers with strategies to integrate experiential, inquiry-based, and interdisciplinary approaches into classroom practice,” the official CBSE notice said.

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CBSE training programme to support teachers

The training programme is designed to support teachers aligned with NPST standards to ensure quality teaching and improved student outcomes. The training framework will also consider the broad CPD guidelines as suggested by the NCERT. The CPD guidelines acknowledge activities that are academically aligned with and contribute to the teaching-learning process.

According to CBSE, the evaluation duties performed in Classes 10 and 12 board exams and practicals by teachers, including development tasks such as research projects, presentations, participation in CBSE conferences, item development, e-content creation, CBP development, curriculum review, etc, have been acknowledged as CPD hours as per the notification.

To support this initiative, CBSE urges schools to organise district-level deliberations (DLDs) on STEM education, aiming to create localised learning communities where all educators can reflect on STEM pedagogy, share best practices, and drive innovation. All schools and teachers are encouraged to participate actively in these initiatives to contribute to national goals within local realities.