CBSE Three Language Policy 2026 for Class 7, 8, 9 - New Rules & Implementation

Latest Updates on CBSE Three-Language Policy 2026-27

The CBSE has allowed relaxation for the students who are currently studying in the academic year 2026-27. To adapt to the transition of the three-language policy, students will be assessed at the school level and will not be required to appear in the board examination for the selected language subjects. Here's what CBSE allows.

CBSE Three-Language Policy 2026-27 Language Choices

• Examples of Bhartiya Bhashas: Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia, Assamese, etc.
• Examples of non-native languages: English, French, German, Arabic, Spanish, etc.

Students in Class X 2026-27

• Those who are in Class X during the academic year 2026-27 will continue with the old system of the two languages.
• They are not required to take any third language this year.

Students in Class IX 2026-27

• Every student in Class 9 is required to study three languages. However, students in 2026-27 will continue the same three language combinations they have studied in Class 8.
• If the students are already studying two Bhartiya Bhasas, they will have to choose a third language, which can either be another Bhartiya Bhasha or a non-native language.

Example: If a student is studying Hindi and Punjabi, they can choose any other Bhartiya Bhasha (Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, etc) or a non-native language such as English or German.

• If the students study on Bhartiya Bhasha and one non-native language, they will have to choose any Bhartiya Bhasha as thrid language.

Example: If you are studying Bengali and Sanskrit, then you can choose any Bhartiya Bhasha as the third language, like Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, etc.

• If the students are studying two non-native languages, then, as a special one-time relaxation for students who are currently in the academic year 2026-27, they may continue with those two non-native languages and need to add one Bhartiya Bhasha as their third language.

Example: Students can continue with two non-native languages like English and Spanish, and need to add one Bhartiya Bhasha as their third language, like Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali, etc.

Students in Class VII and VIII in 2026-27

• When the students reach Class 9 and 10, they will continue studying three languages, with two of them being Bhartiya Bhashas.
• For the 2026-27 batch, students in Class VII and VIII who have already selected and started studying two non-native languages need to study one Bhartiya Bhasha and continue the same till Class X.

Students in Class 6 in 2026-27

• For the 2026-27 batch in Class 6, two languages out of the three must be Bhartiya Bhashas.
• When the 2026-26 batch and the subsequent Class 6th batches progress to Class 10th, they will take the board examination for R3.

What is CBSE Three Language Policy 2026?

The CBSE three-language policy 2026 mandates that students need to study three languages from the middle to secondary stages of their school. Here’s what students need to know about the policy.

• At least two of these languages must be native Indian languages such as Hindi, regional languages or classical languages.

• A foreign language such as French, German, or Spanish can only be studied as a third language if the other two are native Indian languages.

• With the latest notice from the CBSE board, it has been clarified that there is no board examination for the third language at the Class 10th level.

• All the assessments will be conducted internally by the respective schools.

CBSE Three Language Policy 2026 Implementation

The revised CBSE three-language policy 2026 will come into effect from the academic year 2026-27. Schools affiliated with CBSE will implement the revised language policy gradually according to the prescribed plan of CBSE. Teachers and students will be given sufficient time to adapt to the new requirements.