Reference · CBSE 2026-27 theme and CPD hours

What CBSE asks of schools this year — and how this programme maps to it

The CBSE facts on this page were read from the Board’s own circulars and guidelines and are cited by name. Our alignment notes are marked as ours. Where the two meet, the school decides how each session is recorded.

50 CPD hours a year · 25 school-based Theme 2026-27: CT & Understanding AI Last verified 20 August 2026

CPD Guidelines 2025

The 50-hour CPD year

Every teacher completes a set number of professional-development hours a year: half through CBSE or Government training, half organised by the school. The school-based half is split across the three NPST domains — and that is the shape this programme is built on. The figures themselves are in the table below, from CBSE.

hours a year

CBSE / Government training

school-based

CBSE/NPST domain	School-based hours (of 25)	Total hours across both halves (of 50)	This programme (of 25)
Domain I Core Values and Ethics	6 h	12 h	6 h
Domain II Knowledge and Practice	8 h	24 h	8 h
Domain III Professional Growth and Development	11 h	14 h	11 h
Total	25 h	50 h	25 h

•The “Total” column is CBSE’s combined figure for the domain: the school-based hours plus the hours delivered through CBSE or Government training.
•The “This programme” column is our own mapping of the 25 taught hours onto the domains by content. It is not an instruction on how to record the hours — see “How the hours are recorded” below.
•Source: CBSE CPD Guidelines 2025 (TRG-02/2025, 01 April 2025).

CBSE Notification TRG-02, 09 April 2026

The 2026-27 training theme and its seven sub-themes

CBSE names one training theme each year and asks schools to build teacher capacity around it. For 2026-27 the theme is Computational Thinking and Understanding Artificial Intelligence. The seven sub-themes below are quoted as CBSE lists them.

Training theme for 2026-27

“Computational Thinking (CT) and Understanding Artificial Intelligence (AI)”

1 Foundations of Computational Thinking (CT) and AI Readiness
2 From Play to Abstraction: Progressive Pedagogy for Computational Thinking
3 Mathematics as the Cornerstone of Computational Thinking and AI readiness
4 Interdisciplinary Connections: CT across Subjects at Middle Stage
5 AI in Real-World Contexts
6 Assessment and Pedagogy in CT and AI
7 Ethics and Responsible use of AI

Source: CBSE Notification TRG-02, 09 April 2026.

Suggested activities for 2026-27

Three CT & AI activities CBSE suggests — and where we fit

CBSE suggests three ways a school or district can build capacity on the theme, each with CPD hours attached. The first two are school-hosted; the third is run by the Board. Our role in each is stated plainly.

Activity 1

District Level Deliberations on CT & AI (Workshop)

Organiser:: A volunteering "Lead School", via the Sahodaya School Complex or a group of willing schools
Mode:: Offline, one day
CPD:: 6 hours of school-based CPD under Domain-II

A forum where teachers present case papers on CT & AI practice (Format F1), judged by an Appreciation Committee (Format F4); topic, venue and inviting experts are the organiser's responsibility; training records must be maintained.

Our role (PrepGraph’s note, not CBSE’s)

Help a volunteering Lead School host the day: the hosting checklist, Format F1 coaching for the teachers who present, the Format F2 report, and an expert-led session inside the day. Any PrepGraph demonstration is separate, clearly optional, and outside the counted hours. The Lead School organises and records the activity; we do not run or certify it.

The CT & AI workshop support format

Activity 2

Expert-Led Talks on CT & AI in Schools

Organiser:: A Lead School, as a specialised online/offline session on any sub-theme
Mode:: Half day, facilitated by internal or external experts invited by the school
CPD:: 3 hours of school-based CPD under Domain-II

Participation / attendance records must be maintained for CPD-hours integration.

Our role (PrepGraph’s note, not CBSE’s)

Be the external expert the Lead School invites: a half-day session built from Modules 1 and 2 (what AI is and is not; responsible use). The school keeps the attendance record and decides how the hours are recorded.

Modules 1 and 2

Activity 3

Regional Workshops / Orientations on CT & AI

Organiser:: CBSE Centres of Excellence (hosted by the Board)
Mode:: Online registration, ₹700 fee
CPD:: 6 hours of Board-conducted CPD under Domain-II

Schools nominate teachers as per CoE jurisdiction.

Our role (PrepGraph’s note, not CBSE’s)

None. These are Board-conducted workshops run through CBSE Centres of Excellence; we list them so a school sees the full picture of the year.

Sources: CBSE Notification TRG-02, 09 April 2026 · CBSE Guidelines 2026 — District Level Deliberations on CT & AI.

Independent programme, not a CBSE certification. PrepGraph Academy is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the Central Board of Secondary Education. Certificates are issued by PrepGraph. The programme is designed around the CBSE 2026-27 training theme and the CBSE/NPST professional-development domains; the host school decides how to record the hours under CBSE’s CPD guidelines and keeps the attendance records.

How this programme maps

Hours by domain, modules by sub-theme, principles by design

Three views of the same alignment: where the 25 hours sit against the school-based CPD year, which CBSE sub-themes each module addresses, and which curriculum principles the sessions are designed to.

i Hours by domain — 25 of the school-based 25

Domain I Core Values & Ethics

6 of 25 hours · CBSE school-based allotment: 6 h

What AI is and is not; bias, privacy, integrity and student data; and the teacher's role in an AI-enabled classroom — AI recommends, teachers decide.

Domain II Knowledge & Practice

8 of 25 hours · CBSE school-based allotment: 8 h

Computational thinking across subjects; AI-enabled pedagogy on a real CBSE chapter; and assessment that finds learning gaps, not just marks.

Domain III Professional Growth & Development

11 of 25 hours · CBSE school-based allotment: 11 h

Productivity lab, the teach → assess → identify → diagnose → intervene → verify workflow, a classroom practicum with real students, and an evidence-based capstone.

How the hours are recorded — the school decides

Our 6 / 8 / 11 split describes how the content of the 25 hours aligns with the three NPST domains. It is the same shape as the school-based CPD year, and that is deliberate — but it is a content mapping, not a recording instruction.

CBSE counts its own CT & AI activities — the half-day expert-led talk (3 hours) and the District Level Deliberation (6 hours) — under Domain-II, Knowledge and Practice. A school may well record a PrepGraph session the same way.

So: the school’s CPD owner decides, session by session, which domain and how many hours to record, and keeps the attendance record. We supply the record template and an agenda for every session so the decision is easy to make and easy to defend.

ii Module × CBSE sub-theme

A tick means the module’s outcomes and activities address that sub-theme directly. Every module addresses at least one; sub-theme 7 (ethics) runs through Domain I and returns in the practicum.

Module	Domain	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
M1 · Understanding AI 2 h	I	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	yes
M2 · Responsible AI 2 h	I	no	no	no	no	yes	no	yes
M3 · The Teacher’s Role 2 h	I	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes
M4 · CT Across Subjects 2 h	II	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no
M5 · AI-Enabled Pedagogy 3 h	II	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no
M6 · Assessment & Learning Gaps 3 h	II	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no
M7 · Productivity Lab 3 h	III	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes
M8 · The Teacher Workflow 3 h	III	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no
M9 · Classroom Practicum 3 h	III	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes
M10 · Reflection & Capstone 2 h	III	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no

The seven sub-themes

1Foundations of Computational Thinking (CT) and AI Readiness

2From Play to Abstraction: Progressive Pedagogy for Computational Thinking

3Mathematics as the Cornerstone of Computational Thinking and AI readiness

4Interdisciplinary Connections: CT across Subjects at Middle Stage

5AI in Real-World Contexts

6Assessment and Pedagogy in CT and AI

7Ethics and Responsible use of AI

iii CBSE curriculum principles we design to

From the CT & AI Curriculum for Classes 3–8 (2026-27). The left column is CBSE’s principle; the right is what it means in this programme.

CBSE says

Classes 3–5: CT is integrated into Mathematics and The World Around Us by subject teachers using worksheets — ~50 hours a year.

In this programme

Module 4 is written for subject teachers first. Its CT activities are worksheet-style tasks a primary Maths or EVS teacher can run in a normal period — not computer-lab exercises.

CBSE says

Classes 6–8: advanced CT across all subjects plus an introduction to AI literacy, delivered collaboratively by subject teachers and computer teachers — ~100 hours a year.

In this programme

Module 4 puts subject teachers and computer teachers on the same chapter task — the interdisciplinary collaboration CBSE describes for Classes 6–8 and names in sub-theme 4 — and the practicum is open to both.

CBSE says

Pedagogy is activity-based and experiential: puzzles, structured problems, projects, demonstrations, discussions, debates, reflective exercises.

In this programme

Facilitator talk is a minority of every session plan. Most agenda minutes are hands-on work, group tasks, reflection or classroom practice; each module page shows the split to the minute.

CBSE says

Assessment should move away from summative-only towards continuous, formative, competency-based assessment — problem-solving tasks, project work, reflective journals, teacher observation, rubrics.

In this programme

Modules 6, 8 and 9 are built on short competency diagnostics, gap analysis and reassessment — not on marks. Certification is assessed on rubrics and classroom evidence, not attendance.

CBSE says

The curriculum is platform-agnostic: schools choose tools; free and open-source tools are recommended.

In this programme

Module 7 uses several AI tools, PrepGraph one among them, and generic prompting gets 30–45 minutes in total. The workflow in Module 8 is taught as pedagogy that any suitable tool could carry.

CBSE says

Ethics is explicit: digital footprints, bias, privacy and fairness in AI systems.

In this programme

Modules 1–3 (six hours, Domain I) cover bias, privacy, digital footprints, academic integrity and the teacher’s accountability before any tool is demonstrated.

Source: CBSE CT & AI Curriculum, Classes 3–8 (2026-27).

For the academic coordinator

What the school records

The school owns the CPD record. For each session of the programme we supply an agenda and a one-page record sheet; the coordinator fills in the rest in about five minutes.

Session

Module number and title, date, start and end time, venue (or “online”).
Domain recorded

Which NPST domain the school records the session under — the school’s decision, noted by the CPD owner.
Hours

Hours counted for the session, as the school records them.
Attendance

Names and signatures of the teachers present; late arrivals and early departures noted.
Facilitator

Name and organisation; marked as internal or external expert.
Evidence

The session agenda, the sign-in sheet and at least one artefact — an assignment, a worked chapter plan, a practicum log page. Photographs only if the school wishes.

Open the CPD attendance and record sheet

Claim language

What we say — and never say

This wording is enforced across the site, the certificate and the materials a school receives. If you see us break it, tell us.

We say

PrepGraph Certified AI-Enabled Educator
25-hour professional development programme
Aligned with the CBSE 2026-27 training theme "Computational Thinking and Understanding AI"
Aligned with the CBSE/NPST professional-development domains
Delivered as a school-hosted programme; the school records CPD hours as per CBSE guidelines

We never say

CBSE Certified / CBSE Approved / CBSE Recognised AI teacher (unless CBSE formally grants it)
"As per CBSE official syllabus"
Any use of the CBSE logo or emblem
That a PrepGraph certificate is itself a CBSE CPD certificate
Outcome claims about student learning from the product ("improves results", "proven impact")

Context

Why we are careful with wording

In July 2024 CBSE publicly disclaimed emails that offered free teacher training on AI “as per CBSE official syllabus”. The Board had sent no such email, and said so.

That episode is the reason this site reads the way it does. Our certificate is a PrepGraph certificate. Our alignment is with the CBSE 2026-27 training theme and the CBSE/NPST domains — the design of the curriculum, not an approval of it. The school records the hours; we supply the templates.

CBSE has publicly disclaimed emails offering "As per CBSE official Syllabus Free Teacher's Training on AI" — it issued no such email. No training provider should imply CBSE endorsement. CBSE Disclaimer, 18 July 2024

Sources

Read the originals

Every CBSE fact on this page and on this site was read from one of these documents. If CBSE issues a new circular, this page is updated and dated.

Facts on this page last verified against the source documents on 20 August 2026.

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