Punjab: AAP-centric questions in Class XII exam spark row

A controversy has erupted after the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) included two questions about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Class 12 political science exam held on March 4. The first question, carrying one mark, asked about the year of AAP’s establishment, while the second, an eight-mark question, required students to elaborate on the policies and programmes of the party.

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The Punjab unit of the BJP has accused the ruling AAP of using the education system to influence young minds, calling it a form of political propaganda. Vineet Joshi, media head of the Punjab BJP, criticised the move, stating that the AAP was resorting to such tactics after facing electoral setbacks, including losing 10 of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and a significant defeat in recent local body elections.

DEOs to spend two hours in field

Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Monday ordered all district education officers (DEOs), both elementary and secondary, to spend first two hours - 9 am to 11 am - in field every day. He said the output of all DEOs would be reviewed on a monthly basis.

“If students are being asked to describe AAP’s policies and programmes, it implies that they have been taught about them throughout the academic year. This raises concerns about an attempt to shape the political perspective of young voters ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections,” Joshi said.

He also questioned why AAP was given exclusive mention in the exam, while other significant political parties, such as the SAD — India’s oldest regional party — the Congress, which has governed the country for the longest period, and the BJP, which has been in power at the Centre for 11 years, were omitted.

Education Minister Harjot Bains defended the inclusion of the questions, stating that the exam papers were set by experts based on the syllabus, which included questions about all political parties and their policies. “Political science as a subject means teaching students about political parties as well,” Bains said, dismissing the BJP’s allegations as “frivolous”.

A PSEB official, on the condition of anonymity, pointed out that questions about other political parties had also been included in previous exams. For instance, in the political science question paper for differently-abled students held on March 8, examinees were asked about national political parties and their symbols, along with a question about the BJP. Similarly, in the supplementary exams held in March 2023, students were asked about the policies and programmes of the BJP. In March 2021, Class 12 students were asked to write about four policies of the Congress, he explained.