AI Goes Mainstream: CBSE’s Leap from Pilot to Priority
- Aug. 26, 2025, 5 p.m.
The CBSE has quickly elaborated on the teaching of AI in schools. AI has developed from a pilot initiative into a substantial part of school education in just 5 years. Information delivered in the Rajya Sabha depicts that CBSE-affiliated schools providing AI in Class 9 rose from 235 in 2019-20 to 4,543 in 2024-25. This is an increase of more than 1,800 percentage. The school count went up from 80 in 2020-21 to 944 in 2024-25, for class 11, marking a 1,000 percentage jump.
The Union Minister of State for Education shared these details in reply to a question from a BJP MP. He explained that CBSE launched AI as an optional skill subject in Class 9 in 2019 and included it in Class 11. CBSE created the AI curriculum with assistance from experts at IBM, Intel, and higher education institutions.
The students opting for AI have increased as well, and the enrolment rose from 15,645 in 2019-20 to 4,69,454 in 2024-25 in Class 9 with a 2,900 percentage increase. The number of students rose from 2,048 in 2020-21 to 33,933 in Class 11 in the current academic year. Educationists find that schools and students progressively cover technology-focused subjects.
AI professionals emphasise that it has transformed from being a niche skill to becoming a necessary competence in modern education. Launching it early enables students to acquire skills relevant to future job trends. CBSE organised 7 innovation and technology events, adding 2 national skill expos, 3 ideathons, and 2 Future Tech Olympiads between 2020 and 2024.
Many of them enrolled in the AI curriculum among the 35,000 students who took part. CBSE has forced AI from a buzzword to a mainstream classroom subject with these attempts.
