Maharashtra govt makes 'Marathi' language a compulsory subject in all schools

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government, on Monday, announced to makeMarathi a compulsory subject in Standard 1 and Standard 6 in the academic year 2020-21, Standard 2 and Standard 7 in 2021-22, Standard 3 and Standard 8 in 2022-23, Standard 4 and Standard 9 in 2023-24 and Standard 5 and Standard 10 in 2024-25 in schools belonging to different mediums and education boards in Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language in Schools Act, 2020, will be applicable to all boards, including CBSE, CISCE, IB, IGSCE and NIOS.

Minister of School Education Varsha Gaikwad, in her tweet on Monday, said that the government has issued a notification to make Marathi compulsory in schools belonging to different mediums and education boards in Maharashtra. The law has been crafted on the lines of the laws in Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, and it makes teaching and studying Marathi compulsory in all schools (irrespective of the board to which they are affiliated).

The compulsory teaching of Marathi will be a condition for a school to register or obtain a NOC from the government.