New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted relief to the current batch of CBSE Class 6 students under the board’s three-language policy, allowing them to continue with a foreign language and exempting them from the board examination for the R3 subject. The court also raised concerns over the implementation of the CBSE three-language policy and asked the board and Centre to address issues related to curriculum, teacher availability and school preparedness.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana examined the implementation of the R3 language policy during the hearing. The bench indicated that some aspects of the policy may need to be revisited to ensure that students do not face unnecessary pressure during its implementation.

Supreme Court Raises Concerns Over CBSE R3 Policy

During the hearing, the Supreme Court raised questions about school preparedness and the stage at which students should be introduced to a third language.

The bench indicated that relief could be considered for the current Class 6 batch and that the implementation of the policy could be considered for students from the next academic session. It also questioned whether Class 6 was the appropriate stage for introducing the requirement and asked authorities to consider the curriculum and the point at which students are first given a choice between studying two or three languages.

The court also raised questions about the treatment of English as a foreign language under the policy and asked the Centre to consider how the three-language framework is being implemented by other school education boards.

The solicitor appearing for the Centre said that the suggestions would be considered and that the government would return with its response.

“We don't want the children to come under any pressure,” the Chief Justice observed during the hearing.

Teacher Availability and School Preparedness Questioned

The Supreme Court also examined concerns regarding the availability of qualified teachers for the third-language programme.

Senior advocate Anand Grover raised concerns about the implementation of the policy for Classes 6 to 8 and the availability of qualified teachers. The bench observed that if schools are required to introduce additional languages, adequate arrangements for teachers must also be made.

The court noted that the CBSE has provided students with options involving 23 languages and stressed that schools must have the necessary teaching resources before introducing a language.

The bench also emphasised the importance of respecting regional and Indian languages. It suggested that an expert committee could be constituted to examine difficulties arising during the implementation of the policy and recommend solutions.

Parliamentary Panel Had Earlier Flagged Concerns

The Supreme Court's concerns come after a Parliamentary panel highlighted several challenges related to the introduction of a third language from Class 6.

The observations were included in the Tenth Report of the Committee on Estimates (2026-27) on budget and policy aspects of providing affordable and quality education, including a review of the Central Board of Secondary Education.

The panel had raised concerns over the preparedness of schools, including the availability of study materials and qualified teachers, particularly in view of the limited time provided for implementing the new language framework.

CBSE Three-Language Policy for Class 6

The CBSE introduced a third-language option for Class 6 from the academic year 2026-27 in line with recommendations under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023.

Under the framework, students are required to study three languages, with two of the three languages required to be native to India. If a student chooses a foreign language such as French or German as R3, the other two languages are required to be Indian languages.

The policy has generated discussions around language choices, teacher availability, curriculum development and the preparedness of CBSE-affiliated schools.

The Supreme Court's observations have now put the focus on the implementation of the three-language policy, particularly the academic requirements, teacher availability and language choices for the current Class 6 batch.