English-medium schools can’t drop Marathi: State edu dept

In a government resolution (GR) issued on Thursday, the state education department has clarified that schools cannot take vocational subjects in place of Marathi

In a government resolution (GR) issued on Thursday, the state education department has clarified that schools cannot take vocational subjects in place of Marathi even if it is their second language. “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 can 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.

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In 2016, the education department introduced various vocational courses and schools were allowed 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,” says the GR.

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 a school’s 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.

An official from the state education department said that the GR would ensure schools do not take the subject lightly.

“There are some schools who already want to escape Marathi by opting for other subjects. The government policy does not allow them to drop the language, but they tried to use vocational subjects to get rid of it. This now clears the government’s stand on the policy,” said the official