New Delhi : The Supreme Court has intervened in the Central Board of
Secondary Education's three-language policy, urging a reconsideration
for Class 6 students this academic year amidst concerns over
jurisdiction and student pressure.

The Supreme Court has suggested CBSE consider exempting Class 6
students from its three-language policy for the current academic year.

The policy mandates the study of three languages, including two native
Indian languages, for Class 9 students from July 1, aligning with NEP
2020.

A three-judge bench, led by CJI Surya Kant, deferred the hearing but
asked CBSE to explore accommodation for Class 6 students.

Petitioners argue that CBSE lacks the jurisdiction to frame curriculum
for classes 6 to 8, which should be done by NCERT.

The court stressed the importance of finding solutions without
pressuring students and suggested deferring the policy for Class 6
until next year.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Central Board of Secondary
Education (CBSE) to consider exempting Class 6 students from its
three-language policy for this academic year.

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant,
while deferring the hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the CBSE's
three-language policy to September 17, asked the Board to look into
the possibility of accommodating the students of Class 6 in the
ongoing academic session.

Court's Suggestion To CBSE "Consider Class 6 for this year... If they
can be given some accommodation," the bench, also comprising Justices
Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, told Solicitor General (SG) Tushar
Mehta.

SG Mehta requested the court to defer the hearing on the pleas as
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati was not available.

He nonetheless assured that the officials concerned would consider the
bench's suggestion. "All of us would sit together and revert to your
lordship," the top law officer said.

The senior counsel for one of the petitioners said the matter should
not be delayed due to more adjournments as students have to ultimately
take an examination and it was causing anxiety among their parents.

Background Of The Policy Challenge : The apex court was hearing a
batch of pleas challenging the CBSE's policy mandating the study of
three languages, including two native Indian languages, for Class 9
students from July 1.

On August 20, the Supreme Court had stressed the need to find a
solution to issues arising out of the CBSE policy mandating the study
of three languages by Class 9 students, observing that children should
not come under any kind of pressure.

It had said there was nothing wrong in introducing the policy but the
only concern raised by the petitioners was about the manner in which
it was being introduced.

The bench had noted that one of the aspects that was required to be
considered was how to build adequate human resource infrastructure
with regard to the language options available.

"If you have chosen Class 6 as the starting point, you may consider
giving a reprieve to Class 6 students of this year. You can introduce
it from next year," it had said.

Jurisdiction And Policy Alignment : The senior counsel for one of the
petitioners has contended that the CBSE has no jurisdiction or
authority to frame the curriculum for classes 6 to 8 as this has to be
done by the NCERT.

On May 27, the top court had agreed to examine a plea challenging the
policy and issued notices to the Centre, the CBSE and the NCERT
seeking their responses.

According to a circular issued by the CBSE, the study of three
languages, including at least two native Indian languages, has been
made compulsory for Class 9 students beginning July 1.

The move is part of the CBSE's alignment of its scheme of studies with
the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum
Framework for School Education (NCF-SE), 2023.

According to the circular issued on May 15, students opting for a
foreign language may do so only as the third language after studying
two native Indian languages, or as an additional fourth language.