The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued guidelines for implementing the three-language policy in affiliated schools from the 2026–27 academic session, clarifying that the current Class 10 batch will not be required to follow the revised policy.
The guidelines have been issued in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which recommends that students learn three languages, with at least two of them being native Indian languages (Bhartiya Bhashas).
According to the CBSE, the objective of the policy is to strengthen multilingual education while ensuring that language learning remains balanced, meaningful and enriching, contributing to the holistic development of students.
The board has clarified that students currently studying in Classes VII, VIII and IX will not be required to appear for a Class 10 board examination in the third language when they move to the secondary stage.
It also said that students in the current batches of Classes VII, VIII and IX who have already opted for two foreign languages may continue studying them. However, they will be required to study one additional Bhartiya Bhasha (native Indian language).
To facilitate the transition, CBSE said that grade-appropriate resource material for the additional language will be made available within a stipulated timeframe.
Under the revised language policy, every student in Class IX will study three languages, of which at least two must be Bhartiya Bhashas.
Examples of Bhartiya Bhashas include Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia and Assamese, among others. Non-native languages include English, French, German, Arabic and Spanish.
For the current batch of Class VII (2026-27) and Class VIII (2026-27), the students who have already selected and started studying 2 non-native languages need to study 01 additional Bhartiya Bhasha and continue the same till class X.
CBSE said the introduction of the third language at the secondary stage is an extension of language learning undertaken during the middle stage (Classes VI to VIII).
The board reiterated that while it aims to equip learners with proficiency in multiple Indian languages and promote the vibrancy of linguistic diversity, it is equally committed to ensuring that the learning process remains engaging and manageable for students.