New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced that students appearing for the Class 10 public examination must pass the third-language subject to be declared successful, in line with National Education Policy guidelines. The new requirement will take effect from the 2027-28 academic year.
In a statement issued on Monday, CBSE said that under the three-language policy, students in Classes 9 and 10 must study two Indian languages and one foreign language.
CBSE clarified that the third-language paper will not be part of the Class 10 board examination. However, a Class 10 pass certificate will be issued only if the student clears the school-conducted internal assessment for the third language.
The board said the rule will not apply to students already in Class 10 during 2026-27, and will apply only to those studying Class 9 in 2026-27. If a student does not pass the internal assessment in Class 10, schools must conduct a re-assessment before the board results are declared.
Students who fail the third-language assessment in Class 9 will still be allowed to move to Class 10, but they must reappear for the Class 9 third-language assessment while in Class 10 and clear it through internal evaluation, the statement added.
