New Delhi, June 30 -- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Monday announced a one-time relaxation for students currently in classes 9, 8, and 7 from the three-language policy which was hastily implemented through a circular dated May 15. The circular caused consternation among students of the three classes who had opted for two non-native languages because it mandated that they study three languages, of which at least two have to be "native Indian languages". The circular was unexpected and came barely six weeks after CBSE unveiled a revised scheme of studies on April 2 envisaging phased implementation of the three-language formula starting from Class 6 in 2026-27, with full roll-out to Class 10 by 2030-31. To be sure, this is in keeping with the three-language policy as laid out in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It wasn't immediately clear why CBSE rushed through the implementation after initially choosing not to. The rethink came after students and schools expressed concern over the change. CBSE's relaxation, announced in a press release on Monday, promised "relaxations during the transitional period". Students of classes 9, 8, and 7, who have already opted for two non-native languages will be allowed to continue with the same , but will have to add one Indian language as the third language. The board reiterated that there would be no CBSE Board examination for this third language when students from these three classes reach Class 10, emphasizing that the move is intended to ensure "no student shall be disadvantaged due to this alignment." HT on June 5 reported that CBSE's May 15 circular defied a decision of its own governing body ratified in December 2025 that implementation should wait until NCERT released dedicated textbooks. For the current Class 10 batch (2026-27), CBSE reiterated that "there will be no change" and students will continue under the existing two-language system. For students entering Class 6 in 2026-27 and subsequent batches, the policy will apply in full. They will study three languages, with two being Indian languages. "When this batch and the subsequent Class 6 batches progress to Class 10, they shall take the board examination" in the third language, the board stated in its press release, adding that textbooks for this third language " are being made available on NCERT website". Schools have been permitted to use flexible staffing arrangements-including teachers with functional proficiency, retired teachers....