NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stay the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) three-language policy for the 2026-27 academic session, observing that ‘learning a language never goes waste’, while agreeing to hear petitions challenging the policy in detail next week.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana issued notice on fresh petitions and scheduled the matter for hearing on Wednesday next week. The court, however, refused to grant any interim stay on the CBSE circulars at this stage.The petitions challenge the CBSE’s decision to implement the revised three-language policy from the current academic year. The petitioners argued that students studying in Class 9 would now have to study two Indian languages, forcing many to drop languages they had been learning since Class 5. They also raised concerns over English being treated as a non-native language under the policy, besides pointing to the lack of teachers and textbooks for several Indian languages.Appearing for one of the petitioners, senior advocate Anand Grover argued that the CBSE lacked the legal authority to issue such circulars.“The circulars are without authority of law. Only NCERT has authority, not CBSE. They are imposing languages without giving options. No teachers, no books are available if I want to learn Punjabi instead of Sanskrit. As a child, I must have the opportunity to learn a language which will give me employment,” he submitted.Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing in another batch of petitions, argued that the policy treated English as a ‘non-native’ language while making Indian languages compulsory, Live Law reported. “They have taken a 300-year-old language and treated English as a non-native language,” he said.Senior advocate Shyam Divan argued that although CBSE had diluted some provisions through a June 29 circular, major concerns remained. He submitted that while the National Education Policy (NEP) envisaged implementation by 2030, the CBSE had advanced it to the current academic year.Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi highlighted the practical difficulties for students already studying foreign languages.“A student of Class 9 who is studying French till date is told to take up a third language and give the examination in April. Unless you get a pass in internal assessment. How can anyone in Class 9 be told to start learning, say, Tamil? Which school in Delhi can provide a teacher who can teach?” he argued.Seeking interim relief, Sankaranarayanan said schools were not prepared to implement the policy.“We went to the NCERT website a few minutes ago. Only three books, not 22. Children are being told to drop English and other foreign languages and take up native languages. They had said that by July 1 textbooks would be ready. Teachers have to be ready for 22 languages. This is damaging the status quo,” he submitted.He also expressed concern that teachers of foreign languages could lose their jobs if schools were forced to alter language offerings.Responding to the submissions, Chief Justice Surya Kant remarked, “Learning of language never goes waste.”When Sankaranarayanan argued that teachers could be dismissed because of the policy, the CJI replied, “If dismissed, we can reinstate.”Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union government, sought two weeks to file a response. The bench directed the Centre to submit its reply within 10 days.The court also heard submissions from intervenor Fauzia Khan, represented by advocates Rahul Shyam Bhandari and G Priyadharshini, who argued that the policy had adversely affected the mental health of children, particularly those from economically weaker sections.
Background
The hearing comes amid an ongoing legal challenge to CBSE’s revised three-language policy, introduced under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.The Board has defended the policy, telling the Supreme Court that nearly half of its over 28,800 affiliated schools already teach two or more Indian languages in Class 9, while almost all have at least one Indian-language teacher. It has also said schools have been given flexibility in staffing during the transition period.CBSE has clarified that students can continue studying foreign languages such as French, German or Spanish either as one of the prescribed languages or as an additional fourth language. It has also introduced one-time relaxations for students already studying two non-Indian languages and said NCERT is preparing textbooks in all 22 Scheduled Languages to support implementation.The petitioners, however, contend that the policy was introduced abruptly, lacks adequate infrastructure and could disrupt students’ ongoing language education. They have also questioned the availability of qualified teachers, textbooks and assessment mechanisms for the revised framework.
