Hankernest
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For schools · one of the two rooms

The Composite Skill Lab, done properly.

Every CBSE-affiliated school needs one, existing schools by 22 August 2027. Most will build the room. We help with the inside.

Book a workshopDownload the circulars
Students at the lab bench
Students at the lab bench

What CBSE actually requires

The mandate gets summarised badly, usually by people selling something.

the requirement

Every CBSE-affiliated school must establish a Composite Skill Lab: fresh affiliations now, existing schools by 22 August 2027.

the space

One lab of 600 sq ft for classes 6 to 12, or two labs of 400 sq ft, one for 6 to 10 and one for 11 to 12. Either satisfies it (Skill-75/2024; Skill-13/2026).

the equipment

CBSE's list is explicitly "suggestive", adopted per the school's readiness (Skill-13/2026).

the curriculum

NCERT's Kaushal Bodh is mandatory in classes 6 to 8 from 2025-26 (Skill-81/2025).

The space the circulars require, drawn to one scale
Plan drawing of the two Composite Skill Lab space options Option A is one lab of 600 square feet serving classes 6 to 12. Option B is two labs of 400 square feet each: one for classes 6 to 10, one for classes 11 to 12. Both options are drawn to the same scale, so the areas compare truthfully. Either satisfies the requirement.OPTION ACLASSES 6–12600 SQ FTOPTION BCLASSES 6–10CLASSES 11–12400 SQ FT400 SQ FT

The circulars themselves

Read them yourself.

Ten minutes with the source beats an hour with anyone's summary.

23.08.2024Circular Skill-75/2024Composite Skill Labs in affiliated schoolsDownload the PDF20.03.2026Circular Skill-13/2026CSL guidelines, the deadline, the suggestive equipment listDownload the PDF28.10.2025Circular Skill-81/2025Kaushal Bodh, classes 6 to 8Download the PDF

What we've noticed

Equipment is bought. Capability is built.

Most school innovation programmes go quiet within six months. We watched it in the ATLs we set up across northern India, 2019 to 2021. Most school labs are well-built and underused; the mandate will produce many more.

The hard part is the running: 110 hours a year, three projects per class, activity books, portfolios, vivas, a Mela. None of that arrives in the crates.

Where the lab fitsThe lab is the venue. The projects are the point.Skill-81/2025 says schools with a CSL "may utilize" it. What fills the room is Think Inside the Box: the 110-hour curriculum, your teachers trained to run it, the record kept as the work happens, and the Mela your school runs itself.See the programme

Honest answers

What schools ask us.

What is the actual deadline?

22 August 2027 for existing schools, fresh affiliations from the start (Skill-75/2024, 23.08.2024; Skill-13/2026, 20.03.2026). Never extended: the window was always three years.

What size does the lab have to be?

One 600 sq ft lab for classes 6 to 12, or two 400 sq ft labs (6 to 10 and 11 to 12).

Is there a mandatory equipment list?

No. Skill-13/2026 calls CBSE's list "suggestive". A vendor calling a fixed catalogue compulsory is wrong.

What happens at inspection?

We claim no inside knowledge; anyone selling it is selling you nerves. A room of sealed boxes answers nothing.

Can we use our existing ATL or science lab?

Often, substantially. Whatever lab you have, the work that happens inside it matters more than the lab itself.

Do you sell equipment?

No. No catalogue, no dealer margins, no reason to inflate a list.

Talk to us

The easiest thing is to talk.

Fifteen minutes, your questions, straight answers, including "you don't need us for this".

Prefer the source documents? Write to info@hankernest.com.

A line or two helps us prepare. Skip it if you'd rather just talk.

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