Supreme Court Pushes for Uniformity in CBSE Language Policy
In a significant development concerning school education, the Supreme Court has directed the central government and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to look into providing similar relaxations to Class 6 students under its newly introduced three-language framework that were previously granted to students in higher classes.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana heard the petitions and noted that students currently studying in Classes 7, 8, and 9 have been exempted from appearing for board examinations in a third language upon reaching Class 10. The bench opined that a similar compassionate approach should be evaluated for Class 6 pupils to ease their academic transition.
Government Stance and Institutional Preparedness
Appearing for the authorities, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati informed the bench that nearly 99 percent of affiliated schools have already adopted the three-language study policy and put the necessary infrastructure in place. They noted that only a minuscule fraction of institutions, roughly 1.25 percent, are yet to fully upgrade their facilities.
Despite the high rate of institutional compliance, the apex court emphasized that administrative readiness should not come at the cost of students' mental well-being. Justice Bagchi suggested that the immediate implementation for Class 6 could be deferred to allow schools and young learners adequate time to adjust to the overhauled curriculum aligned with the National Education Policy 2020.
Next Legal Steps and Timeline
The bench has formally granted CBSE a window of four weeks to file its detailed response on the matter. Following this, the petitioners will be given two weeks to submit their rejoinders. The court has scheduled the next round of hearings after six weeks, keeping education experts and parents closely monitoring the evolving academic guidelines.
