The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has done what few experienced examination boards would ever do: force the introduction of a subject in Grade 9 well after the academic year has begun, without textbooks ready or available, without ensuring an adequate number of teachers, and giving schools time only till June 30 to take all steps necessary, including updating the subject syllabus online and informing parents and students.

The CBSE has itself acknowledged these problems but insists that its circular of May 15 will hold. It introduced the third language (categorised as R3) and made it applicable from July 1 for Grade 9 students across all its nearly 33,360 schools. This begs the question: what is........

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