Maharashtra: In a recent session of the Legislative Assembly, School Education Minister Dada Bhuse addressed a starred question concerning the enforcement of the law mandating the Marathi language as a compulsory subject up to Class 10 in private and central education board schools in Maharashtra. However, his response revealed no concrete action has been taken against schools violating this regulation.
In a written response to a query raised by MLAs Atul Bhatkhalkar, Bhaskar Jadhav, Murji Patel, Siddharth Kharat, and Baburao Kadam-Kohlikar, Bhuse stated that detailed instructions were issued on February 28, 2024, requiring all schools, including those following central education boards like CBSE and ICSE, to make Marathi compulsory for students. The Minister further explained that measures were being taken to evaluate the quality of Marathi teaching and the qualifications of teachers in English medium schools, including those under central education boards.
However, Bhuse did not provide specifics about how many schools had been reviewed or the steps taken to ensure compliance. The response comes after the Marathi Language Subject Compulsory Act, which was introduced by former Marathi Language Development Minister Subhash Desai on February 27, 2020, aimed at safeguarding the Marathi language. The law was implemented for Class VI students in the 2020-21 academic year and extended to Class 10 students in the current academic year.
Despite this legislation, many central board schools have yet to comply with the requirement, raising concerns about the enforcement and effectiveness of the law.
