Schools cannot pick vocational subjects in place of Marathi, says Maharashtra education department

At the moment, the government is working on coming up with an act to make Marathi compulsory in schools and junior colleges across the state irrespective of the board and curriculum.

In a government resolution, the Maharashtra education department has clarified that schools cannot take vocational subjects in place of Marathi even if it is their second language.

Schools cannot take vocational subjects in place of Marathi even if it is their second language. (Representational image) (HT file)

‘While Marathi medium schools can opt for a vocational subject in place of the second language or social sciences, schools under English medium and other vernacular mediums cannot opt for these subjects in place of other languages. Teaching Marathi in all schools, irrespective of their medium of instruction is compulsory and schools must strictly follow the rule,’ reads the resolution.

From 2016, the education department introduced various vocational courses allowing schools to opt for them in place of social sciences. ‘However, many schools from Urdu, Gujarati and other such mediums opted for these subjects in place of Marathi which is completely unacceptable as per the government policy,’ read the government resolution.

At the moment, the government is working on coming up with an act to make Marathi compulsory in schools and junior colleges across the state irrespective of the board and curriculum. The committee formed to come up with a draft of the act had recently invited suggestions and objections for the same. Once implemented, schools of all boards in the state would have to teach the subject from Class 1 to 12.