Guwahati: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Monday revised its implementation guidelines for the three-language policy, granting a one-time relaxation to students currently in Classes 7, 8 and 9 who are already studying two foreign languages.
Under the revised guidelines, these students will be allowed to continue with their existing foreign language combination while adding one native Indian language (Bharatiya Bhasha). The third language will be assessed internally by schools, and the current batches will not have to appear for a CBSE board examination in the subject when they progress to Class 10.
The clarification follows concerns raised by parents after CBSE’s May circular required Class 9 students to adopt the three-language policy, under which at least two of the three languages must be Indian languages. The move had prompted protests from parents of students studying foreign languages such as French, German, Japanese and Spanish, who objected to changing language options midway through the academic session.
Last week, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had also said that students currently studying foreign languages in Classes 7, 8 and 9 would be allowed to continue with their chosen languages.
CBSE clarified that there would be no change for students currently in Class 10 during the 2026-27 academic session, who will continue under the existing two-language system. They will not be required to study a third language.
The board reiterated that the revised framework aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which recommends that students study three languages, with at least two being Indian languages.
For students currently in Class 9, the board outlined three scenarios. Those already studying two Indian languages may choose either another Indian language or a non-Indian language as their third language. Students studying one Indian language and one non-Indian language must opt for an Indian language as the third language.
As a one-time relaxation, students already studying two non-Indian languages, such as English and French, may continue with both while adding one Indian language as the third language.
The board said the third language for the current Class 9 batch would be assessed through an internal school-based assessment and would not be part of the CBSE board examination when the students reach Class 10 in 2027-28.
The same relaxation will apply to students currently in Classes 7 and 8 who have already opted for two non-Indian languages. They will continue studying those languages while adding one Indian language until Class 10. Like the current Class 9 batch, they will not have to take a CBSE board examination in the third language.
Students currently in Class 6 and subsequent batches, however, will follow the NEP framework in full. They will study three languages, including two Indian languages, and will appear for the board examination in the third language when they reach Class 10.
CBSE and NCERT will provide grade-appropriate learning resources for the third language, the board said.
The board has also retained exemptions for Children with Special Needs (CwSN) under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. CBSE schools outside India and foreign students returning to India are exempt from the mandatory Indian language requirement.
Students whose parents or guardians migrate to another state may continue with the third language they had chosen during the middle stage. Schools have been asked to ensure adequate teaching resources through existing teachers, retired teachers, Sahodaya school clusters and virtual or hybrid teaching.
CBSE said the revised guidelines were intended to align the implementation of NEP 2020 with the interests of students, adding that no student would be disadvantaged during the transition.