Which languages ​​can students choose as a third language? Check out the full list...

CBSE Third Language List: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued guidelines to fully implement the 'three-language formula' in schools starting from the 2026-27 academic session. Based on the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP 2020), the primary objective of this new policy is to promote Indian languages ​​and enhance the language-learning experience for students. With the introduction of this new rule, the way students select languages ​​and study them is set to change significantly. Let us take a look at the languages ​​included under this third-language provision.

What is the new three-language formula?
According to the new CBSE regulations, students will now be required to study three languages ​​during their school education. However, the Board has designed the policy to be flexible and engaging rather than burdensome.

Two Indian languages ​​mandatory
Of the three languages ​​selected by the student, at least two must be indigenous Indian languages.

Option for the third language
Students may choose a non-Indian or foreign language as their third language only if the other two languages ​​selected are of Indian origin.

Which languages ​​can students choose?
Hindi
English
Sanskrit
Bengali
Tamil
Telugu
Marathi
Gujarati
Kannada
Malayalam
Punjabi
Urdu
Assamese
Odia
French
German
Spanish
Japanese
Arabic
Russian
Korean
Chinese (Mandarin)

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