The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made it compulsory for class 9 and 10 students to study three languages from July 1. At least two of these must be Indian.
The decision is part of education reforms linked to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.
Students will not be stopped from appearing in the class 10 board examinations even if they do not perform well in the third language, CBSE has clarified. The subject will be assessed by schools and not through the board exam system.
Why CBSE has taken this step
CBSE says this is meant to implement the three-language formula more strictly under the NEP 2020. The aim is to bring language learning in line with national education reforms and ensure students study multiple languages during school.
The board has said the change is also meant to encourage students to learn Indian languages along with English. It is reportedly also to improve understanding of subjects through multilingual learning and introduce language study early before the class 10 board examinations.
What is mandatory now
From July 1, class 9 students under the CBSE must study three languages, called R1, R2 and R3. At least two of these languages must be Indian languages.
In most schools, English will continue as R1. A foreign language can be taken only if two Indian languages are already chosen, and in that case it can be studied as the third language or as an additional fourth language.
What can be taken as third language (R3)
The third language is usually chosen from Indian languages. Students can study any native Indian language such as Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali, Assamese, Manipuri, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Odia, Punjabi, Urdu, or other regional languages available in their school or state.
CBSE has made it clear that at least two out of the three languages must be Indian languages, so R3 will mostly be selected from this group.
In some cases, students may also study a foreign language as the third language, but only under certain conditions. A foreign language like French, German, Spanish, Japanese, or Russian can be taken as R3 only if the student is already studying two Indian languages.
How schools will manage it
The CBSE has asked schools to update their language options for classes 6 to 9 on the OASIS portal by June 30. Until new textbooks are available, schools can use class 6 R3 textbooks for class 9 students.
To deal with possible teacher shortages, the board has suggested solutions such as sharing teachers between schools, using online or hybrid classes, involving retired language teachers, and using qualified teachers from other subjects who know the language.
The board has also said support material, sample papers and internal assessment guidelines will be issued soon.
No board exam for third language
CBSE has clarified that the third language (R3) will not have a board examination at the class 10 level. The assessment will be done entirely by schools through internal evaluation.
The marks obtained in R3 will be reflected in the final CBSE certificate. The board has also made it clear that students will not be disqualified from appearing in the class 10 board examinations based on their performance in the third language.
Concerns from schools
Several school principals have said the change has come suddenly and will create challenges in planning the academic session. They have pointed to difficulties such as shortage of trained language teachers, timetable changes, and increased academic load on students.
Some educators have also said that schools were not given enough time to prepare for the change, as the academic session is already underway.
(With inputs from PTI and HT’s Gargi Shukla)
