14 July,2026 01:37 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Students who do not qualify in R3 while studying in Class 9 will still be promoted to Class 10, CBSE said. Representational pic
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued comprehensive guidelines clarifying the implementation of the Three-Language Scheme from the academic session 2026-27, emphasising that the third language (R3) will be evaluated exclusively through school-based internal assessments. There will be no CBSE Board examination for the third language.
Students who do not clear the third language while in Class 9 will still be promoted to Class 10 but must qualify it during Class 10 to receive the CBSE Secondary School Examination Pass Certificate. Schools will provide a re-assessment opportunity before the declaration of Class 10 results.
In its circular dated July 10, addressed to heads of all CBSE-affiliated schools, the board outlined measures for the phased implementation of the policy in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The policy aims to promote multilingualism by ensuring students learn three languages, with at least two being Bhartiya Bhashas (native Indian languages), while making language learning meaningful, engaging and balanced.
CBSE has clarified that there will be no change for students studying in Class 10 during the academic session 2026-27. They will continue with the existing two-language system, and no third language is required for this batch.
Every student entering Class 9 in the academic session 2026-27 will study three languages. Of these, at least two must be Bhartiya Bhashas. Examples include Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia and Assamese. Non-native languages such as English, French, German, Arabic and Spanish may be chosen as the third language (R3), provided the other two are Bhartiya Bhashas.
To clarify the language combinations, the circular provides the following scenarios:
The third language (R3) will be assessed only through an internal school-based assessment. There will be no CBSE Board examination for R3 when this batch progresses to Class 10.
Students who do not qualify in R3 while studying in Class 9 will still be promoted to Class 10. However, they must clear the school-based assessment during Class 10 to be eligible for the CBSE Secondary School Examination Pass Certificate.
Students who fail to qualify in R3 during Class 10 will be given a re-assessment opportunity by their schools before the declaration of Class 10 results.
CBSE has also clarified that students entering Class 9 in 2026-27 will continue studying the same three languages they had studied in Class 8, with one of them designated as the third language (R3).
For students currently in Classes 7 and 8 during the 2026-27 academic session, a transitional relaxation has been provided. Those who had already opted for two non-native languages will need to add one Bhartiya Bhasha and continue with the same language combination until Class 10.
For students currently in Class 6, and all subsequent batches, two of the three languages studied must be Bhartiya Bhashas. When these students reach Class 10, they too will not have a CBSE Board examination for the third language.
Dedicated R3 textbooks for Class 6 in 22 scheduled Bhartiya Bhashas are being made available on the NCERT website.
The circular also provides exemptions for Children with Special Needs (CwSN) in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, students studying in CBSE schools outside India, foreign students returning to India, and students whose parents or guardians migrate to another state, allowing them to continue with their existing language combinations subject to school provisions.
CBSE said schools will receive support through flexible staffing arrangements, including the use of existing teachers, retired teachers, postgraduate teachers, inter-school sharing through Sahodaya clusters, and virtual or hybrid teaching wherever required.
The board has released the Class 9 R3 Language Assessment Framework on cbseacademic.nic.in, while NCERT has started making R3 Language Learning Resources available on ncert.nic.in. Schools offering languages other than the 22 scheduled languages may continue using age-appropriate SCERT or state-level learning material, as has been the practice.
Reiterating that the objective of the policy is to promote meaningful language learning rather than increase examination burden, CBSE urged schools to communicate the new provisions effectively to teachers, students and parents, highlighting the long-term benefits of multilingual proficiency and cultural rootedness.
For further clarifications, schools may contact the CBSE at cg26-27@cbse.gov.in.
