Odisha CHSE revises Plus 2 syllabus from 2025-26 onwards; adds environmental and value education units

The Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), on Friday, announced major revisions to the Plus Two (Class 11-12) syllabus, introducing new units on Environmental Education and Value Education.

Sources reported that the new units are to be taught as part of the compulsory English and MIL (Mother Tongue) subjects, respectively. The changes will come into effect from the 2025–26 academic session, with the first set of students to face questions from these new units in the 2026 board examinations.

Focus on Environment and Values

According to an official notification from the Council, students will now study environmental concerns in English and ethical, cultural, and social values through literature in their MIL subject.

Examination papers will include questions designed to test understanding and awareness of both these new thematic areas. The rationale behind the move is to sensitise young learners towards sustainability, ethics, and responsible citizenship at a formative stage of higher secondary education.

The revised framework is also designed to align with the National Education Policy’s emphasis on holistic education.

Wider Education Reforms Underway

The syllabus overhaul comes at a time when the Odisha Government is pushing through wider structural reforms in school education. In a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday, the state approved the merger of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) and the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) into a single unified board.

In the same meeting, it was decided that free textbooks would now be extended to students of Classes IX and X across all categories. Previously, only Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students received free books at these levels.

Additionally, the state has already cleared plans for deploying B.Ed-qualified special educators as resource persons across school clusters to better support differently abled students. The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) will also be developed along the lines of the NCERT, while the Directorate of Textbook Publication and Marketing will be strengthened.