{"id":74066,"date":"2026-05-18T18:57:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T13:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=74066"},"modified":"2026-05-18T18:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T13:28:15","slug":"cbse-third-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-05-2026\/cbse-third-language","title":{"rendered":"CBSE Makes Third Language Mandatory For Class IX\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus:GS2\/Governance&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE)<\/strong> has made it <strong>mandatory for Class 9 students<\/strong> to study three languages from <strong>July 2026<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is a three-language formula?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The three-language formula in the<strong> National Education Policy (NEP) 2020<\/strong> recommends that students learn<strong> three languages<\/strong>, at least <strong>two of which must be native to India.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This formula applies to <strong>both government and private schools<\/strong>, giving states the flexibility to choose languages without any imposition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Background&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Education Policy 2020<\/strong> retains the <strong>three-language formula<\/strong> originally introduced in NEP 1968 but introduces much greater flexibility compared to the earlier policy, which effectively made Hindi compulsory nationwide.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The formula was first proposed by the <strong>Education Commission (1964-66)<\/strong>, officially known as the<strong> Kothari Commission.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Under the<strong> 1968 framework<\/strong>, Hindi-speaking states were required to learn Hindi, English, and a third Indian language, while non-Hindi-speaking states had to include Hindi along with their regional language and English.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In contrast, <strong>NEP 2020 does not impose<\/strong> any specific language on states or students; instead, it allows them to choose the three languages, provided at least two are native Indian languages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This means students will typically study their regional language along with at least one other Indian language, but not necessarily Hindi.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Objectives of three-language policy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Promote multilingualism:<\/strong> Three-language policy enhances cognitive skills and cultural awareness among students.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Preserve Indian languages<\/strong>: Three-language policy ensures at least two of the three languages are native to India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National integration:<\/strong> Three-language policy bridges linguistic divides by balancing regional and national languages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Global readiness<\/strong>: Three-language policy retains English and allows optional foreign languages for international exposure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Opposition and Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Southern states\u2019 concerns: <\/strong>Opposition in Tamil Nadu comes from a long history of anti-Hindi movements and its two-language policy (Tamil and English).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Political parties argue the three-language policy could indirectly promote Hindi, making it a key Centre\u2013state conflict over language and identity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Others argue the policy undermines cooperative federalism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Practical hurdles:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shortage of trained teachers for regional languages : <\/strong>Many schools lack enough trained Indian language teachers, so the Central Board of Secondary Education allows temporary solutions like using skilled teachers, online classes, inter-school sharing, and retired or qualified postgraduates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of textbooks and structured curricula.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Burden on students, especially those frequently relocating or already learning foreign languages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Latest Directions of CBSE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The third language will be assessed internally without a Class 10 board exam, and students will not be barred from exams due to it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Foreign languages can still be studied but cannot replace Indian language requirements, and some students may need to adjust their combinations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CBSE says the move ensures alignment with national reforms, consistency with the updated NCERT syllabus, and a gradual transition for schools.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source :<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsonair.gov.in\/cbse-makes-three-language-study-mandatory-from-class-9-from-july-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Air<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> In News <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE) has made it mandatory for Class 9 students to study three languages from July 2026. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> What is a three-language formula?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recommends that students learn three languages, at least two of which must be native to India.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> This formula applies to both government and private schools, giving states the flexibility to choose languages without any imposition. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-05-2026\/cbse-third-language \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74066"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74069,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74066\/revisions\/74069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}