- Supreme Court (SC) reiterated that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) should consider granting a one-time relaxation to Class 6 students from the newly introduced third-language requirement.
- Court suggested that the policy can be applied mandatorily for class 6 students from January 1, 2027.
- Students of Class 7, 8 and 9 have been exempted from the 3-language policy.
About 3-Language Policy
- National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 requires students to learn three languages, with at least two being native to India.
- States and students can choose languages, promoting multilingualism while respecting cultural and regional diversity.
- Benefits of policy:
- Enhances educational access, improving learning outcomes.
- Protects languages and traditional knowledge for future generations.
- Promotes social harmony and tolerance between linguistic and cultural groups
Evolution of the Policy
- Kothari Commission (1964-66): Formally proposed the three-language formula.
- Inclusion in Education Policies
- It was incorporated in NEP 1968 (mandated Hindi, English, and a regional language).
- NEP 1986 & 1992 retained the three-language formula.
- NEP 2020 also retained the three-language formula with more flexibility in language selection.
