Supreme Court Urges Review of Three-Language Policy to Reduce Student Pressure

The Supreme Court of India on August 20 urged the Central government, the Central Board of Secondary Education, and the National Council of Educational Research and Training to revisit the implementation of the mandatory three-language policy for school students, stressing that the rollout must not place undue academic pressure on children. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing petitions challenging the policy's introduction for Classes 6 and 9.

The policy, aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, requires students to study three languages, with at least two being Indian languages. It was implemented for Class 9 from the 2026-27 academic session. During the hearing, the bench questioned the practical readiness for the policy, focusing on the availability of qualified teachers, textbooks, and foundational learning materials for newly introduced languages. Senior Advocate Anand Grover, representing petitioners, argued that many schools were unprepared, with students lacking basic resources like alphabets for languages such as Punjabi or Tamil.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre and CBSE, countered that necessary...