CBSE Orders Schools To Start Teaching Third Language Within 7 Days, Textbooks To Be Available ‘Shortly’

CBSE curriculum for 2026-27 mandates that two of the three languages taught from Grade 6 must be native to India.

CBSE Has Mandated Introduction Of Third Language In Class 6.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday directed schools to implement third language (R3) in Class 6 within seven days. CBSE curriculum for 2026-27 mandates that two of the three languages taught from Grade 6 must be native to India, with options including those listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.

However, the textbooks for R3 in the languages is not available yet. Owing to this, CBSE has instructed the schools to start teaching through the locally available books and material.

“The textbooks for R3 in the languages enumerated in the Constitution of India will be made available shortly. However, schools are directed to start teaching R3 from Class VI immediately, using locally available books/materials, strictly in accordance with the competencies,” CBSE’s notice read.

In a circular issued on April 9, CBSE urged the schools to treat the implementation as “urgent and mandatory.”

Also Read | CBSE Makes Third Language Mandatory For Class 6; What It Means For Students

CBSE also instructed the schools to finalise the their chosen R3 language(s), and also update the same in the OASIS portal. “Schools are required to finalise and notify their respective Regional Offices of their chosen R3 language(s), and also update the same in the OASIS. It is further informed that only those R3 languages which are introduced in Class VI by a school will be available as options in Classes IX and X for that school,” CBSE’s circular read.

Politics Over CBSE’s Three Language Policy

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin sharply criticised the policy and described it as a “calculated attempt at linguistic imposition”, favouring Hindi over regional languages.

In a post on X, CM Stalin wrote, “The recently unveiled curriculum framework by the Central Board of Secondary Education, aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, is not an innocent academic reform–it is a calculated and deeply concerning attempt at linguistic imposition that vindicates our long-standing apprehensions. Under the guise of promoting “Indian languages.”

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