3 min readNew DelhiFeb 27, 2026 09:57 AM IST
First published on: Feb 26, 2026 at 05:44 AM IST
From the 2026-27 academic session onward, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is set to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023 recommendations on introducing a third language — other than two Indian languages — to students in Class 6.
Official sources said English will be considered a “foreign” language. The NEP states that at least two of the three languages should be “native to India”.
For schools that teach English in Class 6, it will become the one “foreign” language that can be taught, in addition to two Indian languages, a source said.
If another foreign language is taught as the third language in Class 6, like French or German, it will have to be accompanied by two Indian languages, the source said.
This also paves the way for the third language to be made mandatory all the way until Class 10 in later years — the NCFSE recommends that all three languages continue in Classes 9 and 10.
The Class 10 Board examination in 2031 will require students to write an exam for the third language as well, unlike the current system of two languages, the source said.
Since the NCFSE specifies the proficiency that a student must acquire in the third language in the middle and secondary stages of school, textbooks aligned with these recommendations will have to be developed. The Board will issue details soon, along with learning material. For the third language in Class 6, the CBSE is preparing learning material for nine languages for the 2026-27 academic session. This will include Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati and Bangla, the source said.
The NCFSE states that a third language (R3) gets introduced in the middle stage (Classes 6-8) and requires an adequate amount of time to develop basic interpersonal communication skills. “R3 has been given more time than R2 and R1 as the learning of a third unfamiliar language in the Middle Stage requires adequate time and practice,” it states.
For Classes 9 and 10, the NCFSE states: “All three languages (R1, R2, and R3) will continue in the secondary stage. By the end of Grade 10, schools will ensure the development of the capacity for basic communication for social purposes in R1, R2, and R3, and linguistic proficiency for academic use in the classrooms in R1 and R2, and to the extent possible, in R3.”
The NCFSE specifies that “language education plays a crucial role in keeping students rooted to their country, as it allows individuals to connect with their culture, heritage, and society… India is a country with a rich linguistic heritage, comprising scores of languages with a great literary heritage… Exposure to two other languages (R2 and R3) will help students to become multilingual, appreciate unity in diversity, and thereby help form a national identity.”
The Class 10 Board examination in 2031 will require students to write an exam for the third language as well, unlike the current system of two languages. ( Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav) 
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