Supreme Court Grants Class 6 Students Relief From CBSE Third-Language Rule

The Supreme Court has directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to give the current Class 6 batch the same exemption from the mandatory third-language requirement already granted to Class 7 students.

The court said the revised three-language policy should be implemented for the present Class 6 students from April 1, 2027, rather than forcing the requirement on them during the ongoing academic year.

The direction came after the Centre told the court that it was not inclined to exempt Class 6 students from the policy this year.

Centre Says 99% Schools Have Adopted Policy

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that the government had examined the issue but was not inclined to grant Class 6 students an exemption for the current academic year.

The Centre said nearly 99% of CBSE schools had already adopted the third-language policy and had the required facilities. It told the court that only around 1.2% of schools were affected by implementation-related difficulties.

Despite the Centre's position, the bench directed that students currently in Class 6 should receive the same relief as the Class 7 batch.

Court Wants Students To Have ‘Comfort’

The bench raised concerns about introducing a new language requirement for students who had already begun their schooling with a different language combination.

Chief Justice Surya Kant suggested that senior officials could visit schools that had approached the court to understand the practical problems they were facing.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the court did not want students to face additional difficulty because of a sudden change in the language framework.

The court said students should have the same “comfort” that had already been extended to Class 7 students and fixed April 1, 2027, as the implementation date for the present Class 6 batch.

Parents Raise Textbook And Language Concerns

During the hearing, lawyers representing parents and schools raised concerns over the availability of textbooks and the sudden change in language choices.

The petitioners said some students had been studying a particular foreign language for several years before being asked to switch to an Indian language under the new framework.

One example cited before the court involved students at a Delhi Public School who had been studying Spanish since Class 4. The court was told that some of these students had subsequently been moved to Sanskrit.

The parents' lawyers also said that although textbooks were available online, physical copies had not reached students in some cases.

What The CBSE Three-Language Policy Says

CBSE's revised framework requires students to study three languages, with at least two being Indian languages under the new system.

The policy is being implemented as part of the broader changes linked to the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023.

CBSE had earlier provided transitional relief to students in Classes 7, 8 and 9. The current Class 6 batch had faced a stricter implementation requirement, making the Supreme Court's latest direction significant for students who had already begun the academic year under the earlier language arrangement.

Larger Challenge To Policy Still Pending

The Supreme Court has not finally decided the broader legal challenge to CBSE's three-language policy.

The court has indicated that the larger issue concerning the mandatory language requirement will be examined separately. The matter has been posted for further hearing after six weeks, with the Centre directed to file its counter-affidavit within four weeks and the petitioners given two weeks thereafter to respond.