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CBSE Two-tier STEM Curriculum: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is looking to make further changes to senior secondary education. Previously, the CBSE board decided that science and social science subjects would be offered in two tiers, basic and advanced, in grades 9 and 10.
Now the board intends to implement the Two-tier STEM Curriculum for grades 11 and 12, where STEM subjects will be offered in two tiers, akin to the previous two-tier structure. CBSE's decision will allow students more flexibility in subject choices relative to their interests and career aspirations.
There will be no mandatory subjects for students
The current education structure ignores the core interests of the students and hampers their overall learning experience. This structure is largely designed to alleviate stress for students who have to take subjects that are not aligned with their interests or future plans. This change is being introduced as part the National Education Policy 2020. In a report by Sunday Express, the changes are planned to be implemented for grades 11 and 12 in the 2026-27 academic session.
The board has already adopted this method of learning
CBSE Board has already done this experiment. For Class 10 students, CBSE provided two options for a math paper in the board exam. The board observed a significant number of students "opting out" of math in the 11th and 12th grades, but intended to ‘do well’ in 10th board exams. The board commented that this situation was beneficial to these students.
The board had introduced Maths for class 10 at two levels, one standard and the other basic. The basic level math exam is deemed easier than the standard level exam. However, the question papers, for both these levels, are set from a common syllabus.
Initially, there will be an opportunity for eleven-grade learners.
As of December last year, the governing body of the board endorsed the suggestion to offer Science and Social Science at Two Levels for Grades 9 and 10. Now the board intends to do the same for Science and Maths in Grades 11 and 12. This will first be applied to 11th-grade students in the 2026–27 academic year. That being said, the schedule could shift based on the availability of new NCERT textbooks.
