Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that his government will make sure that Marathi language is made compulsory as a subject in schools of all boards in the state. As of now, the government mandates that schools teach the Marathi language till Class 8, and include it as an optional subject in Classes 9 and 10. Noting that central board schools, namely the CBSE and ICSE, were not implementing the order, Fadnavis said that the state government will amend the law to make it compulsory across all boards till Class 10.
Speaking in the Legislative Council on Thursday, the CM said that while Marathi teaching is compulsory, some schools under CBSE and ICSE were not following it. Pointing out that leaning Marathi will remain compulsory in the state, he added, “For that, the schools of all boards will have to teach it. The state government will make all necessary changes in the law.”
The chief minister was responding to the issue raised by Shiv Sena MLA Neelam Gorhe in the state assembly. Gorhe had claimed that teaching the state language was compulsory for all boards in southern states. “The same kind of rules must also be made in the state for Marathi for all boards,” he said.
As per a state official, “It is just a circular but there is no rule making the Marathi language as a compulsory subject. It could be one of the reasons for the schools’ under central boards not following it.”
While political parties in Maharashtra have often raised the issue of compulsory teaching of Marathi language in schools, the issue gained spotlight last year when there was a goof-up in the translation of the Maharashtra Governor’s address to the state legislature. Opposition MLAs were quick to point out that there was no full-time secretary in the Marathi language department and that 40% posts in the department were lying vacant. The Chief Minister was then accused of ignoring the state’s language and culture.
Vinod Tawde, the then education minister, had said that the government was considering to make Marathi a compulsory subject till Class 10, however, a final decision on the matter would be taken the education board. Marathi is currently a compulsory subject till Class 8 in schools run by the Central Board of Secondary Education and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) which conducts the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education examination.
Recently, the Centre had to release a revised Draft National Education Policy (DNEP) after a number of states opposed compulsory teaching of Hindi in schools under the three-language formula. The government came out with a revised DNEP after removing the controversial portions that upset like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka as well as West Bengal.