The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced that the third language (R3) will not be a Board examination subject for current Class 9 students in their Class 10 exams. However, students must pass the school-based assessment in the third language to qualify for the CBSE Secondary School Examination Pass Certificate.
This clarification, issued on July 10, addresses the ongoing discussions regarding CBSE’s revised three-language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Starting from the 2026-27 academic session, students entering Class 9 will study three languages, with at least two of them being Indian languages.
While the third language will not be a Board examination subject for the current batch in Class 10, clearing the internal assessment conducted by the school remains mandatory. In the academic session 2027-28, students moving to Class 10 will not have a CBSE Board examination in the third language (R3) but must pass the school-based assessment for the Class 10 pass certificate.
CBSE has instructed schools to provide students failing the R3 assessment in Class 10 with a chance for reassessment before the Class 10 Board examination results are declared. Students unable to clear the third-language assessment in Class 9 will be promoted to Class 10 but must pass the pending Class 9 R3 assessment in the following academic year.
The Board has already notified the assessment framework for Class 9 and is developing language learning resources through the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to support schools and students during the implementation process. This clarification on July 10 supplements the implementation guidelines issued on June 29 for the three-language framework under NEP 2020.
