Kendriya Vidyalayas must have at least one Sanskrit section for Classes 6 and 9: KVS
Every Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) must maintain a minimum of one dedicated section of students learning Sanskrit as a third language in Classes 6 and 9
Every Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) must maintain a minimum of one dedicated section of students learning Sanskrit as a third language in Classes 6 and 9, according to a circular issued by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathana (KVS), an autonomous body under the Union Education Ministry. There are currently 1,288 functional KVs across India, along with three operating internationally in Moscow, Kathmandu, and Tehran. The circular, dated May 29 and accessed by The Hindu, is meant for all KV schools in India and abroad. “KVS has ensured that the policy remains sensitive to its transferable student population by maintaining Sanskrit as a common option across all KVs, while offering regional languages as an alternative for students who are not subject to frequent transfers,” a senior KVS official said, on the condition of anonymity.
“KVS already follows a three-language framework with Sanskrit as the third language. Now students will have a choice between studying Sanskrit or a scheduled regional language as third language,” the official added. Limited teachers, resources Following three consecutive reminders issued on April 10, May 27, and May 29, KVS has directed all KV principals to immediately expedite and complete the data submission required for the mandatory implementation of the third language (R3) for Classes 6 and 9 in the 2026-27 academic year. Under the guidelines, all KV schools must collect R3 language preferences from parents and students. The circular clarifies that the R3 choice (Sanskrit or a regional or State language from the scheduled languages) must be entirely distinct from R1 (Hindi) and R2 (English). The official acknowledged that a few KVs face challenges such as limited teacher availability and resource constraints, but insisted that the use of contractual teachers for regional languages, phased roll-out, and adoption of SCERT materials (where there are challenges related to the availability of NCERT materials) will help mitigate these constraints.
Timetable changes Due to the mandatory rollout of R3 and subsequent changes in the school timetable — which has altered subject-wise period allocations for several subjects in Class 9 — a precise recalculation of staff strength is required at the individual school level, the circular said. Staff calculations for various cadres across KVs are processed digitally through the Samagam portal. Data show Sanskrit and Hindi are choices for third language in many Indian schools “All Deputy Commissioners are requested to direct the principals to complete uploading data of R3 on (Samagam) portal on or before June 5, so that the revised staff calculation through the portal may be done at the earliest,” the circular said. Schools can form merged sections based on student volume. For example, a single section may accommodate a mix of students (a few choosing Sanskrit and a few choosing regional languages, if they are up to 15 students).
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