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Maharashtra appoints 7 members to language policy committee
The government resolution (GR) notifying the appointments was issued on September 5, more than two months after the committee was announced.
PUNE: The state government has appointed seven members to the committee, constituted on June 30 under the chairmanship of economist and educationist Narendra Jadhav, to finalise the Three Language Policy for schools in the state, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The government resolution (GR) notifying the appointments was issued on September 5, more than two months after the committee was announced.
The members are: Sadanand More, former chairman of the Language Advisory Committee; Waman Kendre, former director of the National School of Drama; Aparna Morris, an educationist from Pune; Sonali Kulkarni Joshi, head of the linguistics department at Deccan College, Pune; Madhushree Savji, an educationist from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar; Bhushan Shukla, a child psychologist based in Pune; and Sanjay Yadav, state project director of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan in Mumbai, who has been named as the committee’s member secretary.
According to the GR, the committee will work as per the scope defined in the June 30 resolution and is required to submit its recommendations to the state government within three months. The report will be crucial in shaping the framework of the Three Language Policy to be implemented across schools in Maharashtra.
Commenting on the appointments, chairman Narendra Jadhav said that initially, the plan was to have 17-18 members but he requested a smaller team. “They finally settled on seven and I am happy about it. In fact, I would have been equally fine if it was just a one-man commission. What matters is having a core group that can work effectively. Large committees are harder to manage and often face internal clashes,” he said.
On the delay in finalising the members, Dr. Jadhav remarked, “You should ask the chief minister about that. Perhaps the delay was due to political ups and downs. I don’t know the exact reason. But now that the committee is in place, the three-month deadline will be counted from September 5, and we will definitely submit the report on time.”
Outlining the committee’s functioning, he said the focus would be on listening to people and involving all stakeholders. “We plan to visit five locations across the state - Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Ratnagiri and one more. I will personally be present in every visit. We will interact with institutions, teachers’ associations, principals’ associations and others connected with the education sector.”
He added that a website will be created where common people can send in their suggestions. ”Those who wish to give detailed representations will also be heard. We want to understand the feelings of ordinary citizens.”
Earlier, the School Education Department’s decision to make Hindi a compulsory third language was met with strong resistance from different quarters, including educationists, parents and political groups. Following the backlash, the department softened its stand by proposing Hindi as a general third-language option alongside other Indian languages. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the government would put the earlier decision on hold and declared that a committee under Narendra Jadhav’s leadership would be established to recommend a balanced policy.
However, the delay in appointing members to the committee, announced on 30 June, led many to view it as an eyewash. Now, with the appointment of seven members and a 3-month deadline, the committee faces the task of walking the tightrope to deliver its recommendations, striking a balance between linguistic diversity and educational consistency across the state.
