The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has relaxed its three-language policy for students in Classes 7, 8, and 9. According to revised guidelines, students who have already taken two foreign languages will be allowed to continue with the same, along with one additional native Indian language. This decision comes after parents of students who were learning foreign languages protested against the abrupt switch to the three-language policy.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had stated that students in Classes 7, 8, and 9 who have taken foreign languages could continue their studies in their respective selected options. The current batch of Class 10 will not have to follow the new language policy. The CBSE aims to equip learners with competence in multiple native Indian languages and promote the vibrancy of language learning, while ensuring that the process of learning and growth remains balanced.
The National Education Policy 2020 recommends learning three languages, with at least two of the three languages being native to India. The CBSE has reiterated that there will be no change for students who are in Class 10 during 2026-27, and they will continue with the old system of two languages. Every student in Class 9 will study three languages, with at least two being native Indian languages.
Examples of native Indian languages include Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia, and Assamese. The CBSE has provided guidelines for the implementation of the language policy in CBSE-affiliated schools, effective from the 2026-27 academic session. The board has also exempted certain categories from the three-language policy, including children with special needs, schools outside India, and foreign students returning to India.
The CBSE will provide grade-appropriate learning resources to help students learn the third language, and will assess the third language through an internal school-based assessment only. The board has emphasized that no student shall be disadvantaged due to this alignment, and that the focus remains on joyful, meaningful language learning, not on examination.
