The Central Board of Secondary Education has made studying three languages mandatory for students of Class 9, starting July 1. Among the three, at least two are required to be Indian languages, the board stated in a circular on Friday. “Students who wish to study a foreign language may do so as the third language only if the other two languages are native Indian languages, or as an additional fourth language,” read the circular.The move is part of the CBSE aligning its curriculum with the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023.It stated on Friday that there would be no board examination for the third language in Class 10 to “keep the focus on learning and reduce any undue pressure on students”.Assessment for the subject will be conducted internally by schools and reflected in the final certificate, added the board. The CBSE also clarified that no student would be prevented from appearing in Class 10 board examinations because of the third language requirement.As part of the transition, schools will temporarily use Class 6 textbooks for the third language until dedicated material is introduced.CBSE said Class 6 textbooks in 19 scheduled languages – Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil and Telugu – would be made available to schools before July 1. For other Indian languages, schools may continue using state-level resources.The board said children with special needs could receive exemptions under existing rules, while foreign students returning to India may also be considered for relaxations on a case-by-case basis.Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Sneha.