Daily News Analysis ‘CBSE Three-Language Formula ’ : 23 May

Why in News:

• Parents and students have urgently petitioned the Supreme Court against a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) mandate making the study of three languages compulsory for Class 9 students.

CBSE Three-Language Rule Core Facts:

• Policy Alignment: The rule is structurally derived from the mandates of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 to foster multilingualism.
• The Linguistic Split: Students at the secondary stage must study three distinct languages (categorized as R1, R2, and R3), under the strict condition that at least two of these must be native Indian languages.
• Foreign Language Curbs: A foreign language (such as French, German, Spanish, or Japanese) can only be opted for as the third language (R3) if the first two are native Indian languages, or taken separately as an optional fourth subject.
• Assessment Framework: To minimize student stress, there will be no formal external Class 10 Board Examination for the third language (R3). Instead, evaluation will be completely internal and school-based, though marks will be duly recorded on the final CBSE certificate.
• Historical Genesis: The Three-Language Formula was originally conceptualized in 1964–66 by the Kothari Commission and formally enacted via the National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1968, 1986, and revised in 1992.
• Federal Variations: While adopted across most states to bridge northern and southern linguistic structures, states retain absolute flexibility under the Constitution; historically, Tamil Nadu has consistently rejected the formula in favor of a strict two-language (English and Tamil) template.