As per the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education), the third language has been made mandatory as one of the qualifying subjects for students appearing at the level of classes 9 and 10 by synchronising its syllabus with that of the NEP 2020. As per the revised scheme, which is expected to start from 2027-28 onwards, the third language shall not be there in the CBSE Class 10 examinations.
Instead, students will be required to clear a school-based internal assessment to qualify for their Secondary School Examination pass certificate. This represents a significant shift in the board's assessment structure. While Class 9 pupils who fail the third language assessment will still be promoted to Class 10, they must successfully clear the outstanding assessment during the following academic year to obtain their final qualification.
According to a CBSE circular issued on July 10, the new policy will apply to students entering Class 9 in 2026-27 and Class 10 in 2027-28. For those in Class 10, clearing the internal assessment in the third language — referred to in official documentation as R3 — is an absolute prerequisite for securing their final certificate. If a student fails to qualify, schools will be mandated to organise a reassessment before the final Board results are formally declared. This ensures that whilst the language does not add to the pressure of the external board examinations, its study remains a compulsory element of secondary education.
This directive builds upon an earlier CBSE circular from June 29, which announced the phased implementation of the three-language formula from Class 6 onwards, starting in the 2026-27 academic year. In this context, the students need to learn three languages, with a requirement that two out of these three languages should be an indigenous Indian language. For the students studying in Classes 7, 8 and 9, those who have already chosen a foreign language along with English, would now also need to learn a third indigenous language of India, besides continuing the former one. The students had a practice of discontinuing their third language after Class 8, and therefore, this new addition for higher classes marks a significant deviation from the conventional practice.
The rapid rollout of the policy has also prompted a legal challenge. A writ petition currently before the courts urges a return to the CBSE's earlier position from April 9, which had effectively deferred the compulsory implementation of the third language at the Class 9 level until the 2029-30 academic year. In response, the Ministry of Education filed a nine-page counter-affidavit on July 13 defending the transition. Subhash Chand has filed the writ petition in connection with the notice published by the Supreme Court on May 27, 2026 regarding the fact that the implementation of NEP is feasible due to the reason that education comes under the Concurrent List of the Constitution. Both the Union and State Governments have the right to implement NEP due to the reason that education is included in the Concurrent List of the Constitution.
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