Gujarati made mandatory for all schools till Class 8

Gujarati will be introduced in all schools — Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), International Baccalaureate (IB), Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) and International General Certificate for Secondary Education (IGCSE) — from the academic session 2018-19 beginning from Class I and II. In schools where the session has already commenced, it will be introduced from the second semester.

The Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training (GCERT) has been given the task of preparing the road map to implement it from the new academic session. “As per the Kothari Commission report, the first language should be the mother tongue but there are several other schools in Gujarat affiliated to different boards other than the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) and there are mediums where students do not know Gujarati. As a result, students fail to speak and understand Gujarati as we have seen at several occasions,” Chudasama stated in the Assembly. At present, Gujarati is taught as one of the compulsory subjects till Class X in state government schools affiliated to the state board, GSHSEB, which offer this as a second language. The English-medium schools affiliated with the state board offer Gujarati as the second language (optional subject).

“This is the first time that such a historic decision has been passed for Gujarati language. We would be celebrating March 27 as ‘Gujarati bhasha gaurav diwas’,” said Matrubhasha Abhiyan’s Rajendra Patel, who was present in the Assembly.

Education Minister has been expressing his concerns over the dismal result of Gujarati subject in GSHSEB Class X board exams.