The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued guidelines regarding the ‘Three-Language Rule.’ According to these guidelines, the new language policy will not apply to the current Class 10 batch. Furthermore, students currently in Classes 7, 8, and 9 will not be required to take a board exam in a third language upon reaching Class 10. The guidelines further state, “Students in the current batches of Classes 7, 8, and 9 who have already opted for two foreign languages will continue with them alongside one Indian language.”
CBSE’s Three-Language Guidelines
The CBSE guidelines state, “Of the three languages selected, two must be Indian languages. A foreign language may be chosen as the third language (R3), provided the other two languages are Indian.” The guidelines also mention that relaxations and exemptions will be granted during the transition period.
Relief for Class 10 Students
According to the issued guidelines, Class 10 students (for the 2026-27 session) will continue their studies under the existing two-language system. This batch is not required to take a third language. Let us now look at what the guidelines state for Class 9 students. It specifies that “Class 9 students (2026-27) will study three languages, one of which must be an Indian language. The assessment for the third language (R3) will be conducted solely through internal school-based evaluation. When this batch reaches Class 10 in the 2027-28 session, there will be no CBSE board examination for this third language.”
What are the Indian languages?
Let us now outline which languages are classified as Indian languages. The list of Indian languages includes Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia, Assamese, etc. As for non-native languages, these include English, French, German, Arabic, Spanish, and others.
What exactly is this ‘Three-Language Rule’?
According to the CBSE secondary school curriculum, language subjects will be categorized into three levels: R1, R2, and R3. Here, R1 (Language 1) will be the student’s primary language, and R2 will be a different language. R3 (the third language) will become mandatory for Class 6 starting from the 2026-27 academic session and will be fully implemented up to Class 10 by 2030-31.
It is important to note that the languages selected for R1 and R2 cannot be the same, nor should they be taught at more than one level simultaneously. The CBSE notification states, “The languages include India’s two official languages—Hindi and English—along with 42 other languages. Thus, all languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India, as well as other Indian regional languages and foreign languages, will be taught.” For further information regarding the CBSE three-language rule, you can visit the official website: cbse.gov.in.
