Full Breakdown
Supreme Court Urges CBSE to Delay Class-6 Three-Language Rollout to 2027
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event: Court’s Direction and CBSE’s Response
On September 17, 2026, a Supreme Court bench—Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana—asked the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to consider postponing the mandatory three-language requirement for Class 6 to the 2027 academic session. The court also said current Class 6 students could take a third language voluntarily this year. CBSE, represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, will study the suggestion and submit a note by the follow-up hearing on September 23, 2026.
Background & Context: Alignment with National Education Policy
The three-language framework comes from the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework 2023, which aim to increase exposure to indigenous Indian languages. Since July 1 2026, Class 9 students must study three languages, including at least two Indian languages. The policy now proposes extending the same requirement to Class 6.
Data & Statistics: School Readiness
- Only 1.05 % of roughly 28,195 CBSE-affiliated schools have Class 6 students studying more than one non-indigenous language.
- Textbooks for the third language in all 22 scheduled Indian languages are available on the NCERT website, covering 98.36 % of schools.
- 93.3 % of 20,777 schools have staff for at least two indigenous languages; 3,523 schools have teachers for three or more.
- A five-member monitoring committee, formed on September 16 2026, includes education ministry director Bhagwati Prasad Kalal and NCERT secretary Rajeev Kumar.
Official Statements & Responses
Justice Bagchi urged the Board to “give some elbow space” by shifting mandatory implementation to early 2027, allowing families and schools time to adjust. Chief Justice Kant highlighted the need for incentives to encourage participation. CBSE argued that exempting the current Class 6 cohort would create learning gaps in Classes 7 and 8 and set a precedent for future exemptions. The Board noted that the three-language formula dates back to the National Policy on Education 1968 and that no board examination will be held for the third language at Class 10, reducing assessment pressure.
Criticism & Opposition
Senior advocate Anand Grover, representing petitioners, said denying a one-time reprieve to the present Class 6 batch would unfairly disadvantage those students and run counter to the policy’s gradual rollout.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
The court’s suggestion mentions “early 2027,” while Justice Bagchi cited January 1 2027 as the target date. Sources differ on whether the rollout should start at the beginning of the calendar year or later in the academic cycle, and no definitive timetable has been finalized pending CBSE’s note.
Verbatim Quotes
- “From next year, you can have this exercise from 6th standard…2020 the policy was envisaged…it has been put in place in early months of 2026…we are saying put it in early 2027, so that everyone comes to terms with it…give some elbow space,” — Justice Bagchi
- “Please reconsider having it from January 1, 2027...it is a matter of only 4 months..” — Justice Bagchi