Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains alleged that the new policy was attempting to drop Punjabi from the subjects' list and claimed that his government would not tolerate any attack on the language.
The CBSE will hold the Class 12 board exam 2026 from February 17 to April 4 for around 20 lakh students. A total of 17,88,165 students registered this year.

CBSE subject groups in draft policy for the 2026 board exam did not have Punjabi (Code 004); creating confusion among students and stakeholders on the removal of the subject.
Mahashivratri School Holidays 2025: No official confirmation on school closures in Noida, Gurugram, and Faridabad. Gujarat Class 10, 12 board exams start tomorrow.
Amid outrage, the district administration removed lady matron Suchitra Charchi and suspended headmaster Ajit Kumar Madkami and ANM Kabita Kumari. The girl's parents questioned how the pregnancy went unnoticed till labour.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday decided to use the 'Simple Telugu' Text Book 'Vennela' for conducting exams making it easier for students of Classes 9, 10 of CBSE and other boards, it said.
BOSEM secretary S Jitelal stated that board officials met but have not decided on cancelling the exam. DESAM said the social science question paper was leaked on social media, including two WhatsApp groups.
CBSE board exams 2026 will be held in two phases – first phase from February 17 to March 6 and second phase from May 5 to May 20, as per draft scheme.