3 min readMumbaiMar 26, 2024 08:42 AM IST
First published on: Mar 25, 2024 at 10:54 PM IST
The state government is mulling over making Marathi subjects compulsory at junior college level (Classes 11 and 12), as per the recommendations under the newly approved Marathi Language Policy.
It recommends introducing Marathi language letters to children in pre-schools, irrespective of the medium of the school, and offering Marathi as mandatory subjects at university level for two-credits.
Earlier this month, Maharashtra passed the Marathi Language Policy, aimed at elevating the status of Marathi language by ensuring that it is preserved and promoted.
The policy, for the next 25 years, makes multiple recommendations under various areas where use of Marathi can be strengthened in order to promote the language, including education, industry, governance, law among all.
Bringing Marathi in education, however, is the most important objective of the policy. “Even as education in Marathi will be the aim, considering the increasing number of English medium schools and inclination of parents’ toward those, the policy intends to run with the principle of – ‘Great Marathi with Great English’, wherein Marathi will be compulsory subjects from classes 1 to 10 in all schools in Maharashtra, irrespective of medium of instruction. Whereas all Marathi medium schools will teach English from class one,” states the policy.
In order to make it convenient, the policy recommends that Balbharati, the state textbook bureau, should prepare Marathi subject textbooks of various difficulty levels so that it comes handy for children of different non-Marathi medium schools.
Sushil Shejule, coordinator of Marathi School Managements’ Association, however, questions if the policy will see effective implementation. “A similar diktat was issued in 2020, but it remained on paper. In absence of proactive steps from the administration, this too is expected to head the same route,” he said adding that instead of only declaring that Marathi should be taught, who should teach it at various levels should be defined to ensure quality.
At higher education level, however, apart from mandating two-credit course, the policy also recommends that a considerable amount should be allocated for research in Marathi.
The policy also recommends strengthening libraries and preserving the Modi script which is an ancient Marathi script.
Meanwhile, the state has also formed a separate committee to ensure Marathi language gets the status of classic language, as recommended in the policy.
It recommends introducing Marathi language letters to children in pre-schools, irrespective of the medium of the school, and offering Marathi as mandatory subjects at university level for two-credits. (Representational Image) 
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