Parents, students challenge CBSE’s tri-language rule for class 9

Parents and students approached the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing against the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) policy of making three languages ​​compulsory for Class 9 students from July 1. FILE | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Parents and students on Friday (May 22, 2026) approached the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing against the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) policy of making 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 petitioner requested how 9th graders were supposed to “suddenly start learning a new language” with class 10 exam next year.

Mr. Rohatgi said there was clear distress among students who were already burdened by academic workloads and peer pressure.

The senior lawyer requested a hearing on Monday (May 25). The CJI said the petition would be listed next week before the concerned Bench

The three language rule was declared in the May 15 circular issued by the council on May 15.

The circular said that at least two of the three languages ​​must be indigenous Indian languages.

The circular said the rule is part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.

CBSE has clarified that there will be no board exam for third language in class 10.

“All assessments for R3 (Third Language) will be purely school-based and internal. Students’ performance in R3 will be duly reflected in the CBSE certificate,” the board said in a circular.

The CBSE said schools can offer any language, but at least two of them must be Indian. Foreign languages ​​could only be accepted as a third or optional fourth language.

Published – 22 May 2026 11:20 AM IST