Guwahati: Central Board of Secondary Education has announced that studying three languages will become mandatory for students of Class IX from July 1, 2026. However, the board clarified that there will be no Class X board examination for the third language.
In a circular issued on May 15, the CBSE stated that the move aligns with the provisions of the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023. Under the revised policy, students will be required to study three languages -R1, R2 and R3 with at least two of them being native Indian languages.
The board said the third language will not be part of the Class X board examination process in order to reduce academic pressure and encourage learning-focused assessment. Instead, evaluation for the third language will be conducted internally by schools and students’ performance will be mentioned in the CBSE certificate.
CBSE also clarified that students will not be prevented from appearing in the Class X board exams because of the third language requirement.
According to the circular, schools may choose any language listed by the CBSE, provided two of the selected languages are Indian languages. Foreign languages can only be offered as the third language when the other two are Indian languages, or as an optional fourth language.
As an interim arrangement, Class IX students will use Class VI textbooks for the third language until dedicated secondary-level textbooks are introduced. Schools have also been advised to include local and regional literary content to support language learning.
To address the shortage of qualified language teachers, the board has suggested temporary measures such as sharing teachers between schools, virtual classes and appointing retired teachers or qualified postgraduate candidates.
The CBSE further said that special relaxations would be considered on a case-by-case basis for Children With Special Needs (CwSN), schools located abroad and foreign students returning to India.