Picture a trustee of an SSC school in Nashik with a lab proposal on her desk. The principal raises a fair question. The Maharashtra state board is moving to a CBSE pattern, so should the school wait until the new textbooks reach its classes before spending anything on an AI lab?
It's the right question, and the honest answer needs a calendar, not a slogan. This post lays out which classes change when, what the state board still hasn't published on AI, and how to time an AI lab plan around a rollout that runs until 2028.
We run AI and robotics labs inside schools, so we have a stake in the answer. We'll say where the uncertainty is, and where we think it doesn't matter.
Is the Maharashtra State Board Really Becoming CBSE?
Not quite, and the difference matters for planning. The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education continues to operate. The education minister said so directly when the phased plan was announced in March 2025. What changes is the content and the assessment. Balbharati, the state textbook bureau, is producing revised textbooks after reviewing NCERT material, and the board is adopting CBSE-style competency-based evaluation in place of rote testing.
The state also built its own curriculum framework on the National Curriculum Framework, put drafts out for public feedback through the SCERT website, and had its steering committee approve it on 9 September 2024. State history and culture content stays.
So "CBSE pattern" is shorthand. SSC schools remain SSC schools, with NCERT-style textbooks and a CBSE-style way of assessing students. Your board isn't changing overnight. Its content is being rewritten class by class. We covered the wider policy backdrop in our earlier note on Maharashtra SSC schools and NEP 2020.
Which Classes Get New Textbooks in 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028?
Here is the calendar, as announced and as confirmed so far:
- 2025-26: Class 1
- 2026-27: Classes 2, 3, 4 and 6 (confirmed in Balbharati's circular of 7 May 2026)
- 2027-28: Classes 5, 7, 9 and 11 (announced)
- 2028: Classes 8, 10 and 12 (announced)
That same circular said 2026-27 is the last year of the existing textbooks for Classes 5, 7, 9 and 11, which fits the plan. The 2027 and 2028 steps come from the minister's announcement, so treat them as plans that can shift.
Now the practical part. Today a Class 6 student is on the new pattern while the Class 7 student next door is not. Next year Class 7 joins. Your school will run two textbook regimes side by side for at least three years, and the same teachers will handle both. Any lab or curriculum decision has to survive that overlap.
What Hasn't Changed Yet: AI and Computational Thinking in the State Board
CBSE has already published its Computational Thinking and AI curriculum for Classes 3 to 8: 50 hours a year in Classes 3 to 5 and 100 hours a year in Classes 6 to 8, from the 2026-27 session. We break it down in our guide to how schools are setting up CT and AI for Classes 3 to 8.
The Maharashtra state board has not followed with a published equivalent, at least none we could find as of 30 September 2026. The Ministry of Education has asked NCERT to work with State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) on versions in other Indian languages, so the direction is visible. The document isn't.
Our view: plan for the direction, not the details. The direction is that computational thinking and AI literacy will reach state board classrooms. The details (hours, class bands, assessment) will come later and may change. A school that buys hardware and a syllabus around guessed details will probably guess wrong. A school that builds capacity, meaning trained people, real projects and habits, will be fine whichever way it lands. For the practical side of NEP compliance, see our page on implementing NEP 2020 in schools.
What Are Maharashtra Teachers Being Trained On?
Two things happened this summer. On 14 July 2026, SCERT Maharashtra and Kotak Education Foundation launched AI Saathi for Educators, a four-hour Marathi course on DIKSHA. It is the first virtual course made mandatory under the state's online training policy, counts toward the 20-hour annual requirement, and covers roughly 7.5 lakh teachers and education officers from Classes 1 to 12. In June, the School Education Department also signed a letter of intent with Google for Education to train more than 4 lakh teachers in AI and digital skills over 18 months, aimed at government-run and aided schools.
Both are useful. Both are about teacher AI literacy. But four hours can't turn a Class 7 teacher into someone who can run a student project on classification and mark it fairly. That's a different job, and it's where STEM lab teacher training tends to fall short. If you run a private unaided school, don't assume the Google programme covers your staff, and check how AI Saathi applies to you.
How Should You Time a School Lab Around the Rollout?
Four moves, in the order we'd stand behind them.
Start with Classes 6 to 8. These are the classes where CBSE puts its AI hours, and Class 6 is already on the new state textbooks. Get hands-on projects running here and the school has something real to show whichever way the state curriculum lands.
Don't tie yourself to one textbook. Ask for a curriculum built around the National Curriculum Framework that both the Maharashtra framework and CBSE's CT and AI syllabus draw on, not one board's chapter list. If the state syllabus shifts in 2027, a board-agnostic programme adapts. A textbook-locked one gets rewritten.
Fund people, not only equipment. With two textbook regimes and new AI training layered on top, your teachers have little spare time. A lab with nobody trained to run it is one of the most common ways school labs go quiet. It looks good at the open house and is empty by winter. We've written about what happens after the vendor leaves a school lab.
Expect Classes 8, 10 and 12 to move last. They change in 2028, and Classes 10 and 12 are board years. Get the lower classes right first.
This is where a zero setup cost model earns its place. A school that spends ₹15 to 28 lakhs on a lab is placing a large bet on a syllabus that isn't finished. Under our model the school pays nothing for setup, an on-campus engineer runs every session, and the school keeps a profit margin per student that is guaranteed by contract. Our incentive is to keep the lab running well, not to sell a box and leave. You can see how the numbers work on our financial model page and how the lab runs on our schools page. If you're in Pune, Nashik or Nagpur, those city pages are a good place to start.
What Should a Trustee Ask Any Lab Provider Before Committing?
Ask us these too. A good provider won't mind.
- Which board's textbook is your curriculum tied to, and what happens if that changes?
- Who runs the sessions, and how often are they on campus?
- What do we pay upfront, and what happens to that money if the lab is underused in year two?
- What does the contract say if we end the arrangement early?
- Can we visit a school where the lab has run for a full year?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Maharashtra state board becoming CBSE?
No. The state board continues to operate. Balbharati is producing textbooks after reviewing NCERT material, and the board is adopting CBSE-style competency-based assessment, with the shift phased through 2028.
Which classes get new Maharashtra state board textbooks in 2026-27?
Classes 2, 3, 4 and 6, after Class 1 in 2025-26. Classes 5, 7, 9 and 11 are announced for 2027-28, and Classes 8, 10 and 12 for 2028.
Do Maharashtra state board schools have to follow CBSE's AI curriculum?
No. CBSE's mandate binds CBSE-affiliated schools, and we found no published state board CT and AI curriculum as of 30 September 2026. Our explainer on whether the CBSE AI mandate applies to ICSE schools covers how it reaches other boards.
Should an SSC school wait for the new curriculum before setting up an AI lab?
Our view: no, but don't buy against a fixed syllabus either. Start with Classes 6 to 8, choose a curriculum that isn't locked to one board's textbook, and structure the arrangement so being early costs little.
What is AI Saathi?
It's a four-hour Marathi course on DIKSHA, launched by SCERT Maharashtra and Kotak Education Foundation in July 2026. It is the first virtual course made mandatory under the state's online training policy and counts toward the 20-hour annual requirement.
Back to the Trustee in Nashik
Her principal's question deserves a calendar, and now she has one. Wait for the textbooks? They'll keep arriving until 2028, and a state AI syllabus that isn't published yet is a long thing to wait for.
The better move is to decide what to build that survives either outcome: trained people, real student projects and a curriculum that isn't locked to one chapter list. If you'd like to see what that could look like for your school's finances, start with the numbers.