CBSE offers national stage to students with flair for writing and storytelling, ETEducation
New Delhi: Students with a flair for writing and storytelling will get a national platform to hone their creative skills, as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) launched the Budding Authors Programme 2025-26, a nationwide initiative designed to nurture young writers and encourage creative expression among students.
The programme is open to students of CBSE-affiliated schools and will be conducted in multiple phases beginning Jan 6.
According to CBSE, “The initiative is designed to inspire students to discover the joy of creative expression while strengthening their writing skills, language proficiency and confidence.” It provides a structured platform for students to develop critical thinking and self-expression through authentic writing experiences, with an opportunity for selected works to be published.
Students can write on any theme and in any style, genre or format. They can submit original, unpublished short stories either in Hindi or English, but participation is restricted to one language per student.
“Submissions will be divided into three categories based on class and word count: 500–600 words for classes V–VI, 600–900 words for classes VII–VIII, and 1,000–1,500 words for classes IX–X,” said an official.
The first round will be held at the school level from Jan 6 to 31. Each school will appoint a teacher as nodal officer to coordinate participation. There is no cap on the number of entries per class. Evaluation will follow rubrics provided by CBSE. For Hindi entries, students must write their name and school name in Hindi.
“The aim is to foster originality, imagination and a lifelong appreciation for creative writing among school students,” said the official.
The second round will involve registration and submission of shortlisted stories and will be held from Feb 3 to Feb 27. Based on the first round, schools will upload participation details on the CBSE portal and shortlist the best entries for further consideration.
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