New Delhi, Sept. 29 -- The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to grant a one-time exemption from its three-language policy to students currently studying in Class 6, observing that the decision is taken only to extend the same "comfort" as available to students of Classes 7, 8, and 9 who have been similarly exempted for the present academic year. The interim order was passed by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant while hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the roll-out of the three-language policy. The three-language policy was emvisaged in the National Education Policy of 2020 (NEP 2020. The bench said, "We direct the students of Class 6 may be granted the same exemption as granted to Class 7 students," posting the hearing on the main issue concerning the three-language policy and treating English a foreign language after six weeks. In August, the apex court asked CBSE to consider extending the exemption to Class 6 students. On Monday, CBSE represented by solicitor general Tushar Mehta informed the bench that the board had considerdd this, but decided to go ahead and implement the policy for Class 6 students from this year. Mehta told the court that out of the 28,000 odd CBSE schools in the country, almost 99% schools have adopted the policy and have the requisite books and teachers. He said that only 1.2% of the schools are facing a difficulty implementing the rollout. He also argued that Class 6 was intended to be the starting point for the relevant cohort under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023. According to him, exempting the present batch would mean that students enter Classes 7 and 8 without the learning exposure and continuity contemplated under the revised framework. But the court insisted on an exemption. The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said, "Let students of Class 6 have the same comfort as Class 7 students. What we are saying is that so many months have passed since the academic session began in April. Have it implemented from April 2027. By then, the books and requisite teachers will also be available." The Board also informed the court that a five-member committee had been constituted on September 16 to facilitate and monitor implementation of the three-language framework in Classes 6 to 10. The committee is headed by education ministry director Bhagwati Prasad Kalal and includes NCERT secretary Rajeev Kumar, CBSE director (academics) Praggya M Singh, KVS additional commissioner Chandana Mandal and NVS deputy commissioner Somvir Poonia. Given CBSE's earlier decision and the court's direction, the three-language policy will become mandatory for students entering Class 6 next year. In June, CBSE announced a relaxation for students in Classes 7, 8, and 9, after guildeines for the three-language policy were announced in May. Under the relaxation, while the students will have to study a third Indian language, they will not have to appear for a board examination in it when they reach Class X. To be sure, some students and schools were hoping for a complete relaxation -- that is, not having to study the third language at all. That challenge will now be heard in six weeks....