Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a graded part of school computer science in Punjab. The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) has upgraded the Computer Science subject taught in government schools to Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (CSAI) Basic for Classes 8 to 12, with effect from the current 2026-27 academic session. AI-related questions will make up 15 per cent of the marks in the annual examinations, according to reports in The Tribune and Dainik Jagran.
The change was notified through PSEB Circular No. 1148, dated 21 October 2026. It is part of the state government’s push to bring AI education into schools, which Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains launched on 22 July 2026.
What changes for students
The existing Computer Science subject has been renamed and given new subject codes: 826 for Class 8, 104 for Classes 9 and 10, and 242 for Classes 11 and 12. The board says the aim is to familiarise students with how AI is increasingly used in education and in everyday life.
The assessment change is the most concrete part of the move. For 2026-27, AI-based questions will carry 15 per cent of the marks in the subject’s theory and practical components, counted separately. The same pattern will apply in the annual examinations scheduled for February–March 2027. This means AI is not being offered as an optional add-on but as examinable content within an existing subject.
Teachers trained first, then 15 classroom lectures
The rollout starts with teachers. Computer science teachers in government schools were directed to log in to a designated online training platform before 27 October, using credentials sent to them by email or SMS. The training runs for five hours across three sessions and covers the basics of AI.
Once trained, teachers will take the content to students through 15 lectures of 40 minutes each. The board will provide study material and learning resources to support classroom delivery, and has said that schedules for virtual live classroom sessions, a detailed syllabus and further operational guidelines will be issued from time to time.
An advanced option for affiliated schools
According to Dainik Jagran, a second circular, No. 1147, gives PSEB-affiliated and associated schools the option of adopting a more demanding CSAI Advanced course, with separate subject codes (827 for Class 8, 105 for Classes 9–10 and 243 for Classes 11–12). Interested schools were asked to register on the board’s website by 23 October. Schools with several sections in a class may introduce the subject in one or all of them, while sections that do not opt in will continue with the existing computer science course. Online classes for the advanced track, delivered through virtual live classrooms with support from AI experts, are set to begin on 2 November 2026.
Why it matters
Punjab joins a growing list of states moving AI from awareness drives into the formal curriculum, often with very different starting points in teacher capacity and school infrastructure. Two design choices stand out in the PSEB approach. First, it builds on a subject that already has teachers and lab time, rather than creating a new one from scratch. Second, by tying AI to board examination marks in the very first year, it gives schools and students a clear reason to take the content seriously.
The challenges are equally clear. Five hours of online training is a short runway for teachers who will be expected to teach and assess a new area within weeks, and 15 lectures leaves limited time for hands-on practice. How well the study material, the live virtual classes and lab access hold up across thousands of government schools will decide whether CSAI Basic builds real AI literacy or remains a renamed computer science paper.
For now, the message to Punjab’s government school students in Classes 8 to 12 is simple: AI will be on the exam paper in 2027.
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