Delhi withdraws Class 9 R3 pass condition for Class 10 board exam eligibility

The Delhi government has removed a controversial condition in its revised Class 9 examination and promotion policy that linked a student’s eligibility for the Class 10 board exams to passing the third language (R3).

The Directorate of Education issued a corrigendum on Aug 18, clarifying that the earlier provision has been withdrawn and that CBSE guidelines on R3 will apply.

The earlier policy stated that students who failed R3 could be promoted to Class 10 if they fulfilled the remaining promotion requirements. However, they were required to clear the subject in Class 10 to become eligible for the Class 10 board examinations.

An official said the provision was withdrawn because of confusion over the interpretation of the earlier order.

Under CBSE’s three-language policy, introduced in May in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, students in Classes 9 and 10 must study three languages, with at least two being Indian languages. The policy came into effect on July 1.

CBSE guidelines specify that R3 will be assessed through school-based internal evaluation, without a separate Class 10 board examination. Although R3 marks will be included in the final CBSE certificate, they will not determine a student’s eligibility to appear for the Class 10 board exams.

Delhi’s revised Class 9 examination and promotion framework, announced earlier this week, made the third language compulsory and provided for its assessment at the school level.

The revised framework also made vocational education compulsory for Class 9 students and introduced optional advanced-level examinations in Mathematics and Science.

The six main subjects are Language-1, Language-2, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and Vocational Education (Kaushal Vikas), which will determine academic progression and promotion to Class 10.

The Directorate has also scrapped the Mathematics Basic and Mathematics Standard examination structure for Class 9 from the 2026-27 academic session. The existing system will remain applicable to Class 10 students during 2026-27.

Individuals in Society, Art Education, and Physical Education and Well-Being have also been included as compulsory curricular areas with school-based assessment.

Computational Thinking and Artificial Intelligence will be introduced as structured modules during 2026-27 and will become a compulsory subject from the 2027-28 academic session.