Third Language Mandatory for Classes 9 and 10

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), in accordance with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023, has made it mandatory for students of classes 9 and 10 to study and pass a 'third language'. Students must study a total of three languages in classes 9 and 10. At least two of these three languages must be Indian languages. This new rule will apply to students joining Class 9 in the academic year 2026-27 and when they move to Class 10 in the academic year 2027-28. According to the new circular issued in this regard, students of classes 9 and 10 must pass the third language as a school-level internal assessment examination, not as a public examination. From the next academic year, passing the school-level examination for the third language will be mandatory to obtain the Class 10 passing certificate. Students who fail the third language examination must be given a re-examination before the public examination results are released. Students who fail the school-level examination for the third language in Class 9 will be allowed to proceed to Class 10. However, they must take and pass the re-examination in the same academic year. The third language passing rule for Class 9 is effective from the current academic year itself. Similarly, this third language system will be fully implemented for students joining Class 6 in the academic year 2026-27. The Board has clarified that when they reach Class 10 in the future, they will have to appear for a CBSE Board public examination for this third language.