CBSE sets up new regional offices, CoEs in seven cities: Gurugram, Lucknow, Raipur among them

The Central Board of Secondary Education ( CBSE ) has announced a significant administrative expansion by establishing new regional offices, sub-regional offices, and Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in seven cities across India. This initiative aims to strengthen academic governance, enhance teacher training programs, and improve operational efficiency for CBSE-affiliated schools.

The proposal was first approved by the Finance Committee on December 12, 2024, later ratified by the Governing Body on December 26, 2024, and finally received clearance from the Secretary of School Education & Literacy (SE&L), Ministry of Education.
New locations for CBSE offices and centres of excellenceThe following cities will now host newly established CBSE regional or sub-regional offices and CoEs:

• Gurugram
  
• Lucknow
  
• Raipur
  
• Ranchi
  
• Agartala
  
• Itanagar
  
• Gangtok

Schools under these jurisdictions will now report to their respective regional offices, enabling faster issue resolution, better resource allocation, and localised academic monitoring.
Focus on academic excellence and teacher developmentThe Centres of Excellence will play a pivotal role in teacher capacity building, curriculum innovation, and the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. These CoEs will also spearhead training programs, research on emerging pedagogies, and support competency-based education models across schools.
Drug abuse awareness drive with NCBIn addition to the structural expansion, CBSE is set to launch a Drug Abuse Awareness Program in partnership with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this collaboration will be signed on September 3, 2025, at CBSE headquarters in Dwarka, New Delhi.

The initiative will involve:

• Awareness campaigns in schools
  
• Counseling sessions for students
  
• Interactive workshops highlighting the ill effects of substance abuse
  
• Digital outreach programs

Students, parents, and school administrators are advised to refer to the official CBSE website for updated circulars and detailed guidelines regarding these changes.