The Gujarat Education Board has announced significant changes to the Class 10 curriculum, making the study of three languages compulsory from the current academic session. The decision has been taken in line with the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) and brings a major overhaul to the state's Secondary School Certificate (SSC) subject structure.

The revised framework aims to strengthen students' language proficiency while ensuring the effective rollout of the NEP across schools in Gujarat.

First and Second Languages to Depend on School Medium

Under the new subject structure, the first language will be determined by the medium of instruction in the school.

For Gujarati-medium schools, Gujarati will remain the first language, while English-medium schools will continue to teach English as the first language.

The second language will be the alternate language. This means English-medium students must study Gujarati as their second language, while Gujarati-medium students will study English as their second language.

Both the first and second languages will be compulsory for all students.

Students Must Choose One Third Language

The Gujarat Education Department has also made the third language mandatory.

Students will now have to select one language from the available options, including Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Sindhi or Urdu.

Earlier, students had the flexibility to replace the third language with certain alternative subjects. However, under the revised NEP-based curriculum, studying a third language has become compulsory for every Class 10 student.

Vocational Subject Can No Longer Replace Third Language

One of the biggest changes introduced by the board is the removal of the option to substitute the third language with a vocational subject.

Under the previous system, students could opt for vocational education instead of studying a third language. That provision has now been discontinued as part of the revised curriculum.

The board said the move is intended to ensure that students develop multilingual skills while continuing to receive opportunities for skill-based education.

Vocational Education Shifted to an Optional Eighth Subject

Instead of replacing the third language, vocational education will now be offered as a separate eighth subject.

Students interested in skill-based learning can choose vocational education as an additional subject, but they will still be required to study all three compulsory languages.

The new arrangement allows students to pursue vocational training without compromising the language requirements introduced under the National Education Policy.

New Rules Effective from Current Academic Session

The revised subject structure has come into effect immediately and will be implemented across all schools in Gujarat from the current academic year.

Class 10 students will now prepare for their board examinations according to the new curriculum, which places equal emphasis on multilingual learning and vocational education as envisioned under the National Education Policy.