CBSE Third-Language Policy: Supreme Court Extends Relief to Class 6 Students, Check Details

The Supreme Court has directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to extend the exemption from the three-language policy to Class 6 students. The same exemption is already available to students of Classes 7, 8 and 9.

The Central Government had opposed extending the exemption to Class 6, stating that around 99% of CBSE schools were prepared to implement the three-language policy. However, the Supreme Court directed CBSE to provide the same relief to Class 6 students.

CBSE Three-Language Policy: Key Guidelines

According to the CBSE three-language policy, three languages should be studied by the students. The main principles are as follows:

• At least two out of the three selected languages should be Bhartiya Bhashas (languages of India).
• The non-Bhartiya Bhasha language can be taken as the third language (R3) if the other two selected languages are Bhartiya Bhashas.
• CBSE has made certain relaxations and exemptions for the transitional period.

CBSE Class 10 Language Policy 2026-27

Students appearing in Class 10 during the 2026-27 academic year will keep following the current two-language structure. The new structure is not compulsory on this set of students to learn a third language.

CBSE Class 9 Language Policy 2026-27

The students in Class 9 shall be exposed to a three-language curriculum where at least one language should be a Bhartiya Bhasha. The third language (R3) shall be assessed internally within the school.

There shall be no CBSE board examination in R3 for these students in Class 10 for the 2027-28 academic year.

Examples of Bhartiya Bhashas are Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia, and Assamese.

Examples of non-native languages include English, French, German, Arabic, Spanish, etc.

What Is the CBSE Three-Language Formula?

Within the CBSE curriculum for secondary education, there are three types of languages: R1, R2, and R3.

• The notation "R1" refers to the language which the student uses mainly.
• "R2" is a second language that is different from R1.
• "R3" is a third language.

The idea of introducing the third language (R3) is supposed to start from Class 6 during the 2026-27 academic year, and the whole process should be completed by 2030-31 for Classes 6 to 10.

It is required that R1 and R2 should be two different languages, and no language should be offered at more than one level at the same time.

According to the CBSE notification, languages can be Hindi, English, or languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and some more Indian and foreign languages.

CBSE Three-Language Policy: What Students Should Know

The policy is being enforced in phases, and relaxation is provided in separate phases for different classes. In case of 2026-27 school year, the Class 9 students would be learning three languages while Class 10 would continue with the existing two-language policy.

The instruction given by the Supreme Court regarding the extension of exemption to Class 6 provides more relief to the students covered under transitional provisions.

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