New Delhi, July 14: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has clarified that the third language introduced under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will not be included as a Board examination subject for students currently entering Class 9 in the 2026-27 academic session. However, these students must successfully clear the school-based assessment in the third language to become eligible for the CBSE Secondary School Examination Pass Certificate.
The clarification, issued through the Board’s implementation guidelines dated July 10, comes amid discussions over the rollout of the revised three-language framework under NEP 2020. The Board has specified that students promoted to Class 10 during the 2027-28 academic session will not appear for a CBSE Board examination in the third language, identified as R3. Instead, they will be required to qualify the internal assessment conducted by their respective schools.
Under the revised policy, every student entering Class 9 from the 2026-27 academic session must study three languages, with at least two of them being Bhartiya Bhashas (Indian languages). While the third language will not form part of the Class 10 Board examination for the current batch, passing the school-based assessment remains mandatory for the award of the Board’s pass certificate.
CBSE has also directed schools to provide students who fail the Class 10 third-language assessment with another opportunity before the declaration of Board examination results. The responsibility for conducting the reassessment will rest with the concerned school to ensure eligible students fulfil the certification requirement.
The Board further clarified that students who are unable to clear the third-language assessment while studying in Class 9 will still be promoted to Class 10. However, they must pass the pending Class 9 assessment during the following academic year while continuing their studies.
According to CBSE, the assessment framework for Class 9 has already been notified, and learning resources are being developed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to support schools and students during the implementation of the revised language policy.
The July 10 clarification builds upon the implementation guidelines issued on June 29 for the phased rollout of the three-language framework under NEP 2020. As part of the transition, students who are currently studying two non-native languages, such as English and French or English and German, will be allowed to continue with those subjects but must add one Bhartiya Bhasha as the third language under a one-time relaxation.
CBSE also clarified that there will be no change for students already studying in Class 10 during the 2026-27 academic session, who will continue under the existing two-language scheme.
The Board further stated that students entering Class 6 from the 2026-27 academic session onwards will eventually have the third language included as a Board examination subject when they reach Class 10, by which time dedicated textbooks, curriculum and academic resources are expected to be fully introduced.
