Kerala has become the first state in India to make robotics education compulsory for all Class 10 students, a move set to begin with the 2025–26 academic year starting June 2, 2025. This landmark step will benefit over 4.3 lakh students and marks a major stride toward preparing youth for future tech-driven careers.
The new curriculum has been integrated into the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) textbook, specifically in Chapter 6: “The World of Robots”, and is designed to provide hands-on, practical exposure to robotics and programming.
What Will Students Learn?
Students will engage in real-world projects that involve:
- Circuit design and construction
- Working with sensors and actuators
- Programming electronic devices
- Building smart systems using AI
The first hands-on project challenges students to use components such as Arduino breadboards, IR sensors, servo motors, and jumper wires to build an automated hand-sanitiser dispenser.
As they advance, students will work on AI-powered smart home automation systems, including face-recognition-enabled doors, using Pictoblocks software and webcams integrated with Arduino kits.
Teacher Training and Implementation
To ensure smooth adoption:
- 9,924 teachers have already received initial training on the new ICT textbook.
- A dedicated robotics training programme for teachers is scheduled for July 2025.
- The Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) will oversee implementation and offer continued support to schools, including unaided ones.
KITE, the technical arm of Kerala’s General Education Department, has already distributed 29,000 robotics kits to high schools across the state.
Textbooks and Language Support
The robotics-integrated ICT textbook will be available in Malayalam, English, Tamil, and Kannada, ensuring inclusivity across language mediums.
Building on Kerala’s AI Success
This robotics initiative builds upon Kerala’s earlier achievement of being the first state to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) education for Class 7 students in the previous academic year. Now, AI learning has been extended to Classes 8, 9, and 10.
The foundation for this rollout was laid by Little KITEs, the state’s student IT club programme, which successfully piloted robotics learning modules over the past few years.
Towards a Future-Ready Generation
With this initiative, Kerala continues to pioneer education reforms aimed at equipping students with future-ready, tech-driven skills. The state’s approach blends theory with practical applications, nurturing innovation from a young age and empowering students to solve real-world problems with cutting-edge technology.
