The introduction of the three-language policy under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), aligned with the vision of the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 seeks to promote multilingualism while strengthening India’s linguistic diversity. The policy encourages students to learn three languages, with at least two being Bharatitya Bhashas, offering greater flexibility in language choices compared to earlier frameworks. While the policy reflects an ambitious educational plan, experts feel its implementation presents significant practical, administrative, and pedagogical challenges. These may vary across states, school types, and socio-economic contexts, making the transition far more complex than merely revising the curriculum from classes VI to IX.
Under the new scheme, students will study three languages, of which at least two must be Bhartiya Bhashas. A non-native language may be chosen as the third language (R3) , but the other two must be Bhartiya Bhashas. Recognising schools and students are at different stages of implementation, CBSE has provided several transitional relaxations and exemptions.
“The policy’s intent is sound since multilingualism genuinely builds cognitive flexibility and cultural rootedness. The hurdle is sequencing: schools are being asked to source qualified teachers, textbooks, and assessment frameworks for languages many have never offered, on a timeline that doesn’t match the resourcing reality. Strengthening linguistic diversity is possible, but not without curriculum load and timetable adjustments,” says Munmun Sengupta, principal learner incharge, DPS Varanasi, while speaking to Education Times.
Schools will need to redesign curriculum plans, teaching-learning schedules, assessments, teacher deployment, and academic resources across multiple grades. “A phased implementation supported by adequate teacher preparation, quality learning materials, and flexibility for schools is essential to achieve the desired outcomes, says Vaishnavi S- academic Director, Vivekananda Educational Trust, Chennai.
Teacher Shortage
Perhaps the biggest hurdle is the availability of trained teachers. Many schools, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas, struggle to recruit qualified teachers even for commonly taught languages such as Hindi and English. “While metropolitan cities like Chennai may have relatively better access to language teachers, recruiting qualified specialists in multiple Indian languages may not be financially sustainable for resource-constrained schools, particularly smaller private institutions. Building teacher capacity through certification programmes and collaborative resource sharing will be necessary,” Vaishnavi adds.
Fate of Non-Native Languages
“The government’s emphasis on Indian languages through the three-language formula should be viewed as complementary to, rather than a substitute for, foreign language education,” says Kaushal Kumar, chairperson, Centre for Korean Studies, Jawaharlal National University (JNU). He adds, “A strong foundation in Bhartiya Bhashas promotes cultural identity, cognitive development, and national integration, while proficiency in foreign languages enhances international mobility, economic competitiveness, and cross-cultural communication. Together, they create a balanced multilingual framework that equips learners for both national responsibilities and global opportunities. With the world’s largest young population, India possesses a unique demographic dividend. To fully realise this potential, the country must invest not only in technical and vocational education but also in multilingual competence. Developing a workforce that combines technical expertise with proficiency in foreign languages will enhance India’s global competitiveness, expand overseas employment opportunities, attract greater foreign investment, and contribute significantly to sustainable economic growth.”
While there is broad support for multilingualism and preserving India’s linguistic diversity, experts are raising questions about how the policy will work in practice, particularly in schools where English is the medium of instruction and where foreign languages have become an integral part of the curriculum. “NEP 2020 strongly promotes multilingualism, mother tongue-based education and cultural diversity—principles backed by international research in educational linguistics. However, the challenge lies in implementation. Under the CBSE’s revised guidelines, English is grouped with other non-native languages. In practice, this is likely to reduce the space for foreign languages. For most Indian students and parents, English is not just another foreign language but the language of higher education, employment, public life and upward mobility. As a result, if English has to compete with languages such as Spanish, French or German for the third-language slot, it will almost always be the preferred choice, making it difficult for foreign languages to find space,” says Vikash Kumar Singh, assistant professor of Spanish, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). He feels that foreign languages in the long run may continue as elective or additional subjects rather than fulfilling the mandatory third-language requirement.
“Pushing foreign languages to R3 after two Bhartiya Bhashas, or a fourth optional slot effectively deprioritises them. For schools like ours with established French programme and students with genuine study-abroad or international career aspirations, this is a real concern. The current structural incentive now favours native languages, and over a few years, enrolment in foreign-language electives will likely decline unless schools actively protect timetable space for them,” Sengupta says.
Flexible Staffing
To facilitate implementation, CBSE has introduced flexible staffing provisions. Schools may utilise teachers with functional proficiency in the language, engage retired teachers or postgraduate degree holders, or use Sahodaya school clusters for inter-school resource sharing. Schools may also adopt virtual or hybrid teaching models where necessary. “These are sensible interim measures, not long-term solutions. Repurposing a subject teacher with functional proficiency can bridge a gap for a year or two, but it isn’t the same as trained pedagogy. Sahodaya cluster-sharing works well in theory for urban clusters with willing partner schools; hybrid/virtual models are workable for content delivery but weaker for building actual speaking proficiency in young learners. Schools will need all of these simultaneously, not as substitutes for real hiring,” Sengupta adds.
Effective multilingual education requires building a long-term educational ecosystem rather than treating it as a short-term staffing exercise. “Capacity must be developed gradually through sustained institutional commitment,” says Singh, suggesting the need to create an interconnected network where schools, universities, or teacher education institutions can work together in this multilingual educational model.
Migration Issues
The Board has addressed concerns regarding inter-state migration. Students whose parents or guardians move to another state may continue with the same third-language combination they had opted for during the middle stage when they enter class IX. Schools will be required to provide adequate resources to support such students. “This is workable on paper, harder in practice. A student moving from, say, a Tamil-medium context to a Hindi-belt school needs the receiving school to actually have that language resource available, be it teacher, textbooks or assessment capacity. CBSE has placed the onus on schools to ‘provide adequate resources’ but hasn’t specified how a school with no existing capacity in that language is expected to do so overnight,” Sengupta notes.
Additional teacher salaries, textbook procurement across multiple languages, possible language labs or digital resources for hybrid delivery, and timetable restructuring all carry costs. “For schools without a large corpus fund, this is a genuine budgetary strain, not just an administrative issue,” Sengupta says.
Curriculum Overload
Students already navigate an increasingly demanding curriculum that includes STEM subjects, vocational education, coding, art, sports and life skills. “Adding another language without reducing existing academic load could increase pressure on them. Technology with its recorded lessons, language apps, AI-assisted practice tools can supplement classroom teaching and ease the burden on scarce human resources, but it works best as a support layer, not a replacement for a full-time subject teacher, especially at the foundational stage,” says Sengupta.
Vaishnavi seconds her view, advocating the need to rationalise the existing academic load while integrating the third language through activity-based and experiential learning rather than text-heavy instruction.
Overall, a uniform policy framework can work, but uniform implementation timelines cannot. “A school in Varanasi and a school in a smaller town in the Northeast are not starting from the same base of teacher availability or resource access. Some flexibility in implementation pace, while keeping the policy goal uniform, would serve the diversity argument better than a single national deadline,” Sengupta adds.
