Supreme Court asks CBSE to defer three-language policy for Class 6 by a year

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the CBSE to consider implementing its three-language policy for Class 6 from the 2027 academic session. The court also suggested allowing current Class 6 students to study three languages if they wish

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to consider implementing its three-language policy, including the study of two native Indian languages, for Class 6 students from the next academic session beginning in 2027.

The CBSE, represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana that it would consider the suggestion.

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Justice Bagchi, at the outset, said that to provide some comfort to the children, the CBSE should consider deferring implementation of the three-language policy to the next academic year.

If students currently in Class 6 want to study three languages from this year, they could also be allowed to do so, Justice Bagchi added.

The law officer said the CBSE would consider the suggestion and come back with a fresh note on the issue.

The bench said its suggestions were without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the parties and that the real issues could be decided later.

Earlier, the Centre and the CBSE told the bench that they were working on its suggestions regarding implementation of the policy mandating the study of three languages, including two native Indian languages, for Class 6 students.

On May 27, the Supreme Court agreed to examine a plea challenging the policy and issued notices to the Centre, the CBSE and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), seeking their responses.

According to a CBSE circular, the study of three languages, including at least two native Indian languages, has been made compulsory for Class 9 students from July 1, 2026.

“Every student in Class 9 would study three languages. Out of the three languages, at least two would be Bhartiya Bhashas. Examples of Bhartiya Bhashas: Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia, Assamese, etc. Examples of non-native languages: English, French, German, Arabic, Spanish, etc.,” the CBSE had said in its statement.

Two Indian languages have been made mandatory for Class 6, with some relaxations for students in Classes 7, 8 and 9 who were studying two non-native languages.

The move is part of the CBSE’s alignment of its scheme of studies with the National Education Policy-2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education-2023.

According to the circular issued on May 15, students opting for a foreign language may do so only as the third language after studying two native Indian languages, or as an additional fourth language.

“With effect from July 1, 2026, for Class 9, the study of three languages (R1, R2, R3) shall be compulsory, with at least two languages being native Indian languages,” the circular said.

The board said that until dedicated R3 textbooks are available, Class 9 students would use Class 6 R3 textbooks from the 2026-27 edition of the chosen language.

The CBSE said that to keep the focus on learning and reduce undue pressure on students, no board examination would be conducted for R3 at the Class 10 level.

It also asked schools to update their R3 language offerings for Classes 6 to 9 on the OASIS portal by June 30.