State favours Marathi schools seeking no aid

He said the masterplan prepared in 2007 had pointed out that only 56 more Marathi schools were needed in rural areas of the state. “However,in view of implementing the Right to Education Bill effectively,the government has started preparing the masterplan again with some new norms. We will be able to finalise it by December… There are a few good Marathi schools in cities and managements of these schools are even ready to sustain these schools on their own. We will think positively on such proposals in the new masterplan. It will,however,have to be verified if such proposals are genuine as some schools first claim they will not demand aid but start demanding it once they get the permission.”

Thorat also said the new masterplan for school education would stress on the use of technology. “A few experiments are going on in some schools. To keep up with the pace of the changing times,it is necessary to develop teaching methods using the latest technology.”

The government has stopped issuing approval to new Marathi schools since the number of students attending them has declined sharply over the years. If permission for new schools is given,a number of students will shift to the new schools

Balasaheb Thorat Education Minister