Mr. Channi condemned the "biased exclusion" of Punjabi from the main subjects, calling it against the "federal spirit of Constitution."
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Friday responded to Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's tweet opposing the board's decision of excluding Punjabi language from the main subjects. The board said in a statement that since Punjabi is a regional language, it has been "put under the minor category for the purpose of administrative convenience."
Mr. Channi slammed the CBSE and condemned its decision of "biased exclusion" of the language. He took to his Twitter handle and wrote, "I firmly oppose the CBSE's authoritarian decision to keep Punjabi out of the main subjects. This is against the federal spirit of Constitution, violating the right of Punjabi youth to learn their native language. I condemn this biased exclusion of Punjabi.”
Reacting to the CM's tweet, the CBSE said in the statement that the subjects have been classified on the basis of "administrative ground" in order to "conduct Term-I Examinations based on the number of candidates appearing in the subject." The Board denied the reason put forward by the CM and clarified that the exclusion of language does not reflect the "importance of subjects as major or minor."
The CBSE had released the date sheet of Term-I examinations of the major subjects for classes 10th and 12th on its official website on October 20. The board had also declared the date sheet of exams of minor subjects, including Punjabi along with other regional languages.
Meanwhile, the exams for class 10th and 12th for minor subjects are scheduled to begin on November 17 and November 16 respectively. The exams for major exams for class 10th are to be held between November 30 to December 11 and for class 12th from December 1 to 22.
Picture Courtesy- PTI
The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.