Bengaluru:
CBSE’s latest directive mandating an Indian language as the third language from Class 9 onwards has opened a Pandora’s box for schools and parents in Bengaluru, triggering confusion, anxiety and a frantic scramble to manage the fallout of the sudden academic shift.
Calling the move abrupt and impractical, the Management of Independent CBSE Schools Association is exploring legal options and discussing the possibility of challenging the directive in court.
Schools that have long offered foreign languages as third-language choices now find themselves in a difficult position. Hundreds of students in Classes 9 and 10 may be forced to switch midway to an Indian language, raising fears over academic disruption, adjustment challenges and the impact on board exam preparation.
“We plan to hold a meeting with the parents on Saturday, before the reopening, to make them aware of the changes. We have 27 children in German and 30 in French. We’ll have to draw plans to help them out, with extra work, additional periods etc. I wish this change came from the lower classes. In classes 9 and 10, the children have already gone through a process and should be allowed to finish it off. It should have been a bottom-top approach, starting from lower grades,” Deepa Sridhar, director of Sri Kumaran Children’s Home Educational Council.
Things are not easy for those who are offering only Indian languages either. “Classes are starting next week. We have already prepared the timetable. Teachers are appointed, their workload is determined. And now, they drop the bomb. The minute you touch the timetable at one point, it will come crashing. What’s the need for an amendment when the secondary school curriculum that was released in April states that R3 is optional for classes 7-10,” asked a principal of a prominent chain of schools.
Srinivasan M, president of MICSA and chairman of GEAR Foundation, said: “This is very unthoughtful and irrational from the part of CBSE. We will come out with a detailed plan to counter it and are most likely to challenge it in court.”
“Parents are getting shocked at the news. How can you ask any child in class 9 to start learning a new language, a fourth one at that. We have more than 50 students in French. The Supreme Court has already made a judgment that it is a child’s prerogative to decide what language to pick,” he added.
Another principal pointed out that textbooks have to be freshly ordered. “Classes are starting next week. How are we supposed to start classes? CBSE thinks only of the academic calendar of the schools in North India,” he said.
Mansoor Ali Khan, member, board of management, Delhi Public Schools, said CBSE has not consulted with any schools before making the decision. “We are now living in a global world. It is important that children know global languages. How can we become narrow-minded? With Bengaluru being a city with metropolitan culture, we get students from different states and countries. How can we restrict them to take only a few languages?” he asked.
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My son is in grade nine now. He has French and Kannada as his languages. Now, he has to start a new language, a new script altogether at a time when he should be focusing on the subjects he likes. Maths and Science are his forte. This is going to be a nightmare. We are even thinking of changing the board, so that he can focus on the languages he wants to learn. There has been no thought given to the implementation of it. They have no books, are there enough teachers?
Roopa Thomas, parent
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What does the circular say
From July 1, 2026, the study of three languages (R1, R2, R3) will be compulsory for Class IX students, with at least two languages being native Indian languages. Students who wish to study a foreign language may do so as the third language only if the other two languages are native Indian languages, or as an additional fourth language.”
Till the dedicated R3 textbooks are available, Class IX students shall use the Class VI R3 textbooks (2026-27 edition).
Schools facing constraints in the availability of adequately qualified native Indian language teachers may, as an interim arrangement for R3 language, engage existing teachers of other subjects who possess functional proficiency in the native Indian language.
No board examination shall be conducted for R3 at the Class X level. All assessments for R3 shall be entirely school-based and internal. The performance of students in R3 will be reflected in the CBSE certificate.
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