AI to be part of CBSE syllabus

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an optional sixth subject for students of class 11, beginning from the 2019-20 academic year. Further, an AI ‘inspire module’ of 12 hours will be introduced for class 8 students. The CBSE, in an official statement, said that AI would be the power that could fuel the future global digital economy and that the move was aimed at making the country’s next generation to be ‘AI ready’.

Apart from artificial intelligence, subjects such as yoga and early childhood education will also be introduced as electives. Under the early childhood education subject, the students will be prepared to teach children of nursery and kindergarten classes through Montessori, happy education or another system of child-centric education. A total of 42 electives are being introduced by the board. The board has also introduced various ‘skill subjects’ such as automotive and financial marketing, which are applicable from class 8 onwards. As many as 6.5 lakh students, belonging to more than 6,500 schools, have opted for these subjects, according to CBSE.