Maharashtra: Marathi Mandatory In All Schools Till Class X

Maharashtra government has decided to introduce a bill, making learning Marathi language mandatory till Class 10. The bill will make the subject compulsory across all the boards in the state of Maharashtra. This will also include those affiliated to CBSE, ICSE, IB, and IGCSE boards.

A decision to introduce and pass the bill was taken at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of both the Houses on Monday. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, his deputy Ajit Pawar and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis were present in the meeting. It was Ajit Pawar’s idea to make Marathi mandatory for the school students.

Presently, Marathi is a compulsory subject until class 4 in the CBSE and ICSE boards while it is optional for the later years. In case the bill is passed it will become a mandatory subject for the CBSE and ICSE students in Maharashtra until Class 10.

The state school administration has announced that the introduction of Marathi will be done in stages. For the 2020-21 academic year, students of classes I and VI will be mandated to study Marathi. It will be followed by others in subsequent academic years – classes II and VII in 2021-22, class III and VIII in 2022-23. Classes IV and IX in 2023-24 and classes V and X in 2024-25.

No exemption has been made for students coming from other states.

The Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language in Schools Bill, 2020 was unanimously passed in state Assembly. According to it, schools can be fined for not complying with this rule.

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