A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court of India challenging the CBSE three-language policy for Class 9 students. The Bench has directed that the matter be listed for hearing next week by parents and students.
Parents and students approached the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing against a CBSE policy that requires Class 9 students to study three languages, starting from July 1.
The matter came up before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the petitioners, questioned how students in Class 9 could be expected to begin studying an additional language suddenly, with the Class 10 Board examinations approaching the following year.
Mr. Rohatgi noted that many students were reportedly under significant academic strain and peer pressure. He requested that the case be heard on Monday, May 25. The CJI indicated that the petition would be listed next week before an appropriate Bench.
The three-language requirement was introduced through a CBSE circular dated May 15. The circular states that at least two of the three languages must be native Indian languages. It also links the change to the NEP 2020 and the NCF-SE 2023.
The CBSE clarified that there would be no Board examination for the third language in Class 10.
The circular states,
“All assessments for R3 (third language) shall be entirely school-based and internal. The performance of students in R3 will be duly reflected in the CBSE certificate,”
According to CBSE, schools may offer any language, but at least two must be Indian languages. It further specifies that foreign languages may be taken only as the third or an optional fourth language.
CBSE’s recent decision on language instruction reflects a wider reform that is consistent with NEP 2020, which strongly supports multilingual education through the “three-language formula.”
Under this approach, students are encouraged to study more than one language specifically including at least two Indian languages while states and schools retain flexibility in how the policy is implemented.
Earlier, CBSE students typically studied two languages up to Class 10, most commonly English along with a second language such as Hindi or a regional language.
The updated framework according to reports appears to go further by requiring students who enter Class 9 to also take an additional language component, thereby increasing the total number of languages studied at the secondary stage.