New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to suspend the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) order mandating the three-language policy for Class IX students, warning that its mid-session enforcement could disrupt academics across the country, PTI reported.
Singh, who chairs the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, said the directive — issued to take effect from July 1, 2026 — was being enforced without necessary preparations. He told the prime minister that implementing the policy now, “without adequate teachers, textbooks, or transition time, is likely to create serious disruption, not unlike the chaos witnessed during the hasty implementation of CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system”.
Representing concerns he said were raised by parents, Singh said he was transmitting a petition from a group of CBSE Class IX guardians who oppose the mandatory rollout in the current academic term. He added that after reviewing the representation, he considered its points to be “genuine and deserving of immediate attention.”
Singh noted the timing of the circular circulated by the CBSE on May 15, 2026, and contrasted it with an earlier decision of the board. He said the CBSE’s governing body had, in December 2025, endorsed the Curriculum Committee’s recommendation that “schools continue with the existing Scheme of Studies especially with regards to language until the release of graded textbooks of languages by NCERT”.
Governing Body Decision Cited
Despite that ratification, Singh said the board later directed schools to introduce third language instruction for Grade IX from July 1. He pointed out that NCERT has not published graded language textbooks, and that CBSE has advised schools to rely on NCERT’s Grade 6 language books as an interim measure.
Singh questioned how the CBSE arrived at the May directive, saying “It is not clear how and why the CBSE has so evidently overturned its Governing Body’s decision, and in a way that threatens the academic planning of thousands of schools across the country.”
The Congress leader said the policy’s enforcement was “particularly untenable for students in the Southern and North-Eastern States, where Hindi is not spoken and local tribal languages may not feature in the CBSE’s recognised language list.”
Singh added concerns about teacher availability and materials for certain language options. He noted that although Sanskrit has become a common third-language choice, “there is a severe shortage of qualified Sanskrit teachers and appropriate textbooks, a situation that would defeat the very purpose of promoting this beautiful language.”
Singh urged immediate relief for current students, delivering a clear recommendation to delay the policy. “Rising above all other considerations, my respectful recommendation is that the implementation of this policy for current Class IX students be put on hold immediately,” he wrote in a letter dated June 5.
He also referenced ongoing legal proceedings related to the issue. “I understand that the matter is sub-judice but that the verdict of the honourable Court is only due on 15th July, 2026. This is after the date on which schools are meant to be implementing the instruction of the third language (i.e., 1st July 2026),” Singh said, urging prompt action to avoid disrupting academic planning.
Singh appealed to the prime minister to weigh the nationwide consequences for students, stressing that policy decisions should be carefully planned. “Therefore, I earnestly hope that the matter will receive your urgent and sympathetic consideration in the interest of the millions of students whose academic futures depend on sound and well-prepared policy decisions,” he said.
White Paper Demanded
On a related education matter, Singh has also urged the government to publish a white paper on alleged question-paper leaks and other irregularities in National Testing Agency exams over the past eight years, outlining the corrective actions taken.
He said restoring trust in the examination system is vital given the pressure on students; the NEET-UG 2026 test — held May 3 — was cancelled on May 12 after leak allegations and is under CBI probe, with a re-exam scheduled for June 21.
