Govt recognition set to continue for manual typewriting courses, but state wants computer typing taught too

Giving a new lease of life to more than 3,500 institutes in the state that teach typewriting, the government has now decided to continue giving recognition to courses

Giving a new lease of life to more than 3,500 institutes in the state that teach typewriting, the government has now decided to continue giving recognition to courses in manual typing. However, the state has asked institutes to ensure they teach computer typing along with manual typing, as it is a requirement today. The state had earlier set a deadline of November 2019 to phase out manual typewriting.

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A government resolution (GR) issued on August 22 states that institutes can now continue teaching manual typing and exams for the same will still continue at recognised institutes.

In 2013, the government came up with a detailed curriculum for computer typing at recognised institutes. At the time, it aimed to phase out manual typing by 2015. The government later extended the deadline several times after some institutes moved the Bombay high court over the issue.

Institutes said they have already started running a hybrid curriculum. Ashok Abhyankar, who runs the Abhyankar Shorthand and Computer Institute at Girgaon’s Prarthana Samaj, said, “We teach on the typewriter in the initial months and later move to computer typing. While computer typing is the need of the hour, students find it difficult to learn Marathi typing directly on the computer as there is no keyboard [specially for Marathi].”