New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh)— The Central Board of Secondary Education has formalised a major structural change to its curriculum by making the study of three languages entirely compulsory for Class 9 students starting July 1. According to the administrative circular issued by the board on May 15, the revamped scheme of studies strictly mandates that at least two of the three selected regional languages must be native Indian languages.
The significant policy overhaul marks a direct step by the CBSE to align its secondary education curriculum with the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023. Under the updated directives, a foreign language can only be chosen as a third language option provided that the student’s first two language selections are entirely native to India. Alternatively, schools may offer a foreign language as an optional fourth subject through localized reading clubs or extra-curricular slots.
To minimize academic stress on students during the rollout phase, the board clarified that no centralized board examinations will be conducted for the newly introduced third language at the Class 10 level. Instead, all performance evaluations for the third language will remain completely internal and school-based, though the final marks achieved will be recorded on the official CBSE passing certificate. The board explicitly assured institutional heads that no student will be barred from appearing in their primary Class 10 board examinations due to their performance in the third language.
A substantial challenge highlighted by regional school administrators involves the current systemic deficit of qualified native language instructors. To address potential staffing shortfalls, the circular permits schools to implement multiple flexible interim solutions. Affiliated campuses are authorized to share educational resources through regional Sahodaya school clusters, transition to hybrid or virtual learning modules, and hire qualified postgraduate students or retired language educators to manage classes.
