Maharashtra makes Marathi mandatory in all schools, derecognition for violators

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Monday said teaching of Marathi has been made legally mandatory from standard 1 to 10 and schools which fail to comply will face derecognition. Maharashtra School Education minister Dada Bhuse said on Monday that Marathi has been made compulsory across all school boards in the state.

"If a school does not teach Marathi, it will be asked to rectify the violation. If it still fails to teach Marathi, then a fine of ₹1 lakh can be imposed. If, in spite of that, the school does not teach Marathi then the state can cancel the school's recognition," Bhuse said in the state assembly.

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Bhuse was responding to a debate during question hour when BJP MLA Atul Bhatkalkar said several schools were not teaching Marathi to students despite the state making it mandatory.

The assembly had, in 2020, passed the 'Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language in Schools Bill, 2020' which made it mandatory for schools affiliated to other boards like SSC, CBSE, IB and all other boards in the state to mandatorily teach Marathi for students from class 1 to 10. However, the Act's implementation was not stringent due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Schools were allowed to assess Marathi taught to students as a graded subject. However, in 2024, the Maharashtra government said that from the academic year 2025-26, all schools in the state have to teach Marathi as a core subject.

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Responding to the member's concerns on the implementation of the Act and whether Marathi would be taught on paper alone, Bhuse said, "It will not remain on paper. Marathi examinations will be conducted for every class. The Government Resolution (GR) introduced this year empowers us to cancel the school's recognition," he said.

Bhuse said the government will take action against officials who fail to enforce the law against erring schools.