SC To Hear Plea Challenging CBSE’s Three-Language Policy Next Week
New Delhi: The Supreme Court said on Friday that it will hear a plea next week challenging CBSE’s new policy, which makes three languages, including at least two native Indian languages, compulsory for Class 9 students from July 1. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi explained the matter before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi.
“This is an urgent PIL. The petitioners are students, teachers and parents. They are opposing CBSE’s new policy of making two more languages compulsory in 9th standard,” Rohatgi said. he said.
Calling on the high court to present the issue for hearing on Monday, Rohatgi said, “This will create chaos.”
The CJI said next week will be a diverse week and the issue will be listed.
According to a recent circular issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the board has made the study of three languages, including at least two major Indian languages, compulsory for Class 9 students from July 1.
The move is part of CBSE’s alignment of its Study Plan with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.
“In order to adequately meet the prescribed competencies in the Secondary Phase, these textbooks shall be supplemented with appropriate local or state literary material, such as short stories, poems, or works of non-fiction, selected by the schools,” the board said. he said.
He added that detailed guidelines on the selection and pedagogical use of additional literary materials will be published by June 15.
According to the circular issued on May 15, students opting for a foreign language will be able to do so only as a third language or as an additional fourth language after learning two main Indian languages.
“From July 1, 2026, the study of three languages (R1, R2, R3) will be compulsory for Class IX and at least two languages will be native Hindi,” the circular said.
The Board said that until dedicated R3 textbooks are available, Grade 9 students will use Grade 6 R3 textbooks (2026-27 edition) of the chosen language.
To maintain focus on learning and reduce unnecessary pressure on students, there will be no board exam for R3 at Class 10 level, CBSE said.
“All evaluations for R3 will be completely school-based and internal. The performance of students in R3 will be duly reflected in the CBSE certificate. It has been clarified that no student will be barred from appearing for Class X Board Exams due to R3. Sample question papers and rubrics for internal evaluation will be shared by the board shortly.”
The board also asked schools to update R3 language offerings for Grades 6 to 9 on the OASIS portal by June 30.
According to the board, Class 6 R3 textbooks in the planned 19 languages will be made available to schools before July 1, while for the remaining major Indian languages, schools can use existing State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and state-level resources.
The board also said that schools facing shortage of qualified native Indian language teachers may, as an interim arrangement, employ existing teachers of other subjects who have functional proficiency in the relevant language.
“Collaborative and flexible mechanisms such as inter-school resource sharing through Sahodaya clusters, virtual or hybrid teaching support, involvement of retired language teachers and use of suitably qualified postgraduate students can be adopted,” he added.
CBSE also said that relief will be provided to Children with Special Needs (CwSN) under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, while foreign students returning to India may get exemption on a case-by-case basis from the requirement to learn two major Indian languages.
In April, CBSE had announced the phased implementation of the trilingual formula for Class 6 and the introduction of a two-level system for mathematics and science for Class 9 from the 2026-27 academic session.
According to the proposed structure, mathematics and science will have two levels: compulsory standard and optional advanced courses. Although all students will take a common 80-point exam, those who prefer higher proficiency may take an additional advanced assignment aimed at testing deeper conceptual understanding and higher-order thinking skills.
CBSE had then said that the first Class 10 board exams under the new two-level system (standard and advanced) will be held in 2028 for the Class 9 cohort of 2026-27.
