Supreme Court Issues Notice on PIL Challenging CBSE's Mid-Session Three-Language Policy for Class 9

Supreme Court: The Supreme Court of India has directed a notice to the Central Government, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in view of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitioning against the abrupt introduction of the three-language directive for students of Class 9. A three-judge bench comprising of the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi heard this case where the Apex Court demanded details about all the necessary preparations required from the logistics, pedagogic as well as administrative perspectives to implement the directive without disturbing the secondary education. 

The PIL case is based on CBSE Circular Acad-33/2026 issued on 15th May 2026 where the CBSE declared that Class 9 students have to take three languages courses compulsorily, where at least two should be native Indian languages with effect from 1st July 2026. It was stated that there are many problems with respect to operation where the CBSE has instructed to use Class 6 books to learn the third language due to the total absence of secondary-level literature.

Key Highlights of the Challenge

• Sudden Implementation: The CBSE issued a circular dated May 15, 2026 (Circular No. Acad-33/2026) according to which Class 9 students will have to study three languages from July 1, 2026 onwards. Previously, the implementation of this decision was delayed till the 2029-30 academic year.

• Study of Two Native Indian Languages Mandatory: As per the circular, at least two out of the three languages that need to be studied (R1, R2, R3) should be the native Indian languages. Foreign languages could be chosen for the study of R3 if R1 and R2 are native Indian languages or as a fourth language optionally.

• Absence of Textbooks: The circular asks the Class 9 students to use the books of Class 6 for studying their third language (R3) until the books of secondary level become available. 

• Scarcity of Qualified Teachers: According to the circular, schools which suffer from teacher shortages could appoint other subject teachers who have "functional proficiency" in teaching the third language temporarily.