NGOs come forward to save Marathi medium schools

Mumbai: In the last 10 years, more than 700 Marathi medium schools have been permanently shut down because of lack of students and funds. The Marathi medium schools along with several non-profit organisations in the city have come together to save these schools from closure.

According to them, parents these days feel only English medium or a school with International badge can give their students a better future. In these shows and sessions, the alumni who has passed from Marathi medium schools are invited to motivate the parents.

The Marathi Abyas Kendra, an organisation feels the government treats Marathi medium schools differently when compared to the other medium schools like English, Hindi or Urdu. “In the year 2003-04 the government stopped giving aids to Marathi medium schools. However, they continued to give salaries to the teachers,” said Rajendra Pradhan, president of DS High School, Sion. This school is 80-years-old and has more than 3,500 students in their Marathi medium section. Mr Pradhan further said, “Marathi medium schools are mostly of the corporation or private-aided. In such a case, the fee is not more than Rs 100 per month and this money is not enough to run the entire school.”

Through seminars, these organisations make the parents understand that Marathi medium schools are no less than any other medium.  All the Marathi medium schools have ‘Spoken English’ as an additional subject where the students are taught English language so they can speak with the standard Indian accent.