Marathi to be mandatory in all schools till Class 10

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is set to make the Marathi language compulsory in all schools across the state. A Bill in this regard will be tabled in the upcoming Budget Session of the state legislature.

Minister for Marathi Language, Subhash Desai, said that the draft of the bill is being prepared, and the proposed legislation will be introduced in the Budget Session, which commences from February 24.

“The Bill will be discussed for three days and shall be passed in both Houses of the legislature on February 27, which is celebrated as Marathi Language Day.

Once the Bill is passed, it would become mandatory for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) boards to inculcate Marathi subject in their curriculum till Class 10. At present, Marathi is compulsory only till Class 4 in the schools run by the CBSE and ICSE boards. After Class 4, it is optional.

“The draft is being finalised. We are working on its intricacies. The Bill will also include a penalty for the schools that violate the rules,” said Mr Desai.

According to him, there are 25,000 schools in Maharashtra that do not teach Marathi.

According to the officials, they had issued a circular making Marathi a compulsory language, but many schools did not adhere to this order. “There is no rule or Act, which makes Marathi a compulsory subject. And that could be one of the reasons why schools under Central boards did not follow the guidelines,” said an official.

Besides, schools affiliated to the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education, there are a number of those that follow the syllabus prescribed by education boards like ICSE, CBSE and IGCSE.