BJP's former Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai on Tuesday urged the Union Ministry of Education to withdraw a recent CBSE notification that makes a third language compulsory for Class IX students from the current academic year, saying the move has "come as a shock" to many parents, particularly in Tamil Nadu.

Annamalai said he had welcomed the CBSE's April 2026 decision requiring three languages for Class VI students, with two of them being native Indian languages, arguing that learning multiple languages from a young age would help children better understand India's diverse literary traditions.

However, he said the April notification had clearly stated that the third language requirement for Class IX students would become compulsory only from the 2029-30 academic year.

According to Annamalai, CBSE subsequently issued another notification on May 15, directing affiliated schools to implement the third compulsory language requirement for Class IX students from the current academic year itself.

"However, on 15th May 2026, the CBSE sent a notification to all affiliated schools introducing the third compulsory language for Class IX students from this academic year, rolling back its previous commitment to make it compulsory only from the academic year 2029-30," he said.

The BJP leader argued that the revised timeline has created uncertainty among families whose children had already selected their language options in Class VI.

"This has come as a shock to many parents, especially those from TN, as their Children have already selected a language of choice in Class VI," he said.

He also warned that requiring students to take up a new language at the Class IX level with little preparation time could adversely affect learning outcomes.

"Expecting a Class IX student to learn a new language in a short time will only pressurise children and affect their overall learning outcomes," he said.

The former Tamil Nadu BJP chief called on the Ministry of Education to restore the original implementation schedule and introduce the Class IX requirement from the 2029-30 academic year, as previously announced.

"I request the Ministry of Education to roll back this notification immediately and to stick to the previous commitment to introduce the learning of 3 languages, of which 2 shall be native Indian languages, for Class IX, from the academic year 2029-30," he said.

Published on: May 26, 2026 3:48 PM IST