Parents and students have approached the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing against a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) policy which has made the study of three languages compulsory for Class 9 students from July 1. FIle
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Parents and students have approached the Supreme Court on Friday (May 22, 2026) for an urgent hearing against a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) policy which has made the study of three languages compulsory for Class 9 students from July 1.
Appearing before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for the petitioners, asked how Class 9 students were to “suddenly start learning a new language” with the Class 10 Board exam looming next year.
Mr. Rohatgi said there was clear distress among students who were already saddled with academic load and peer pressure.
The senior advocate sought a hearing on Monday (May 25). The CJI said the petition would be listed next week before the appropriate Bench
The three-language rule was declared in a May 15 circular issued by the Board on May 15.
The circular said that at least two of the three languages must be native Indian languages.
The circular said the rule was part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.
The CBSE had clarified that there would be no Board examination for the third language in Class 10.
“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,” the Board said in the circular
CBSE said schools could offer any language, but at least two of them must be Indian languages. Foreign languages could be taken only as the third or an optional fourth language.
Published – May 22, 2026 11:20 am IST
