The Supreme Court has directed the Centre and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to consider extending to current Class 6 students the exemption from the three-language framework that has been granted to students of Class 7.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre and the CBSE, to grant the same relaxation granted to students of Classes 7, 8 and 9 to students of Class 6 this year.

On September 17, the top court had asked the CBSE to consider implementing its policy mandating the study of three languages, including two native Indian languages, for Class 6 students from the next academic session starting in 2027.

According to the CBSE’s statement, the current batches studying in Classes 7, 8 and 9 would not be required to take a board examination in the third language when they progress to Class 10.

The Solicitor General submitted that about 99 per cent of schools have adopted the third-language policy and have been provided with the necessary facilities, while only about 1.2 per cent of schools have not.

During the hearing, the Centre, however, maintained that it was not inclined to exempt the current Class 6 batch from the policy and said students should pursue the new language framework from the current academic year itself.

The Solicitor General told the bench that the latest data showed that implementation-related difficulties affected only about 1.2 per cent of CBSE-affiliated schools.

According to the Centre, nearly 99 per cent of schools had adopted the third-language policy and had the necessary facilities.

Justice Bagchi suggested that the implementation for students who are already in Class 6 could be deferred, allowing the CBSE additional time to put the required infrastructure in place.

The dispute relates to the CBSE’s decision to align its scheme of studies with the National Education Policy, 2020, and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education, 2023. Under the framework, students are required to study three languages, with at least two being categorised as Indian.