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Indian Express
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Decode Politics: Why ‘Hindi imposition' row is back again in Maharashtra
A Maharashtra government order issued earlier this week has brought back the 'Hindi imposition' conversation in the state. In April, following a barrage of criticism, the Maharashtra government withdrew its decision to make Hindi the mandatory third language for Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and Hindi-medium schools under the state board. In the new Government Resolution (GR) issued on Tuesday, the state government removed the word 'mandatory', but because of restrictive conditions on alternatives to Hindi as a third language, many are claiming this is a 'new push' for Hindi. However, the state government still insists Hindi is just an 'optional' language. The new GR is a revision of the earlier order that said three languages would be taught from Class 1 in Marathi and English-medium state board schools, with Hindi as the mandatory third language. The established practice for these schools in Maharashtra has been to introduce a third language to students in secondary school or after Class 5. The order was withdrawn after criticism from political parties and education experts, and an assurance was given that a new resolution would be issued to clarify that Hindi would just be an 'option' as a third language. The latest GR states, 'Hindi will generally be the third language for classes 1 to 5.' If students wish to 'study any other Indian language instead of Hindi as their third language', they will be permitted to do so if a 'minimum of 20 students from the same class in the same school' express 'interest in learning that particular language'. If not, the GR says, 'language will be taught through online methods'. The inclusion of the word 'generally' has sparked fresh criticism. The revised order, according to the critics, fails to provide any options or alternatives to Hindi apart from stating that it has to be an Indian language. They say that there are multiple Indian languages and the state has to clarify what can be taught and define the curriculum. Educationist Kishore Darak also identified the need for a structured curriculum for third languages. 'Teaching pedagogies for languages are different. The assumption is that those who can teach Marathi can teach Hindi … The script of the two languages is similar but that does not mean no extra effort by children or teachers in terms of learning,' he said. Teachers have also questioned how the government plans to make arrangements for students when they want to study an alternative language. Some have even raised objections about the need for 20 students per class as a prerequisite to studying another language. Senior educationist Vasant Kalpande said that 'over 80% government-run schools' in Maharashtra would not be able to meet the criteria, thereby automatically making Hindi the default third language. 'A lot of government-run schools have a total enrollment of less than 20 students in a class. Hindi will then become, by default, the third language. And with no curriculum, no textbooks and no teachers (for other languages), no government-run school will be able to provide an option to Hindi,' Kalpande said. Girish Samant, the chairman of the Shikshan Mandal Goregaon, which runs a popular Marathi medium school in suburban Mumbai, flagged issues with the direction on online teaching. 'This is very unclear as the government is asking schools to seek online platforms to teach languages alternative to Hindi without providing a curriculum, textbooks or any other support. The main problem stands… The government does not justify how language can be taught online to Class 1 students.' After the revised GR sparked a heated debate, state school education minister Dada Bhuse issued a clarification on Wednesday evening. 'Marathi will be a compulsory subject in all schools, regardless of the medium of instruction. Strict action will be taken against schools that do not teach Marathi,' Bhuse said, doubling down on the importance given to Marathi. An official from the school education department said detailed guidelines would be issued soon on alternatives to Hindi. After the original order was issued in April, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray took the most aggressive stand on the issue, joined by his cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. The state Congress, too, joined the regional parties to staunchly oppose the alleged imposition of Hindi in state schools. The MNS, whose core plank is built around Marathi identity politics, has again strongly criticised the new GR and warned that such a move threatens the cultural and linguistic identity of the state. 'Why is Hindi being forced only in Maharashtra? Are you going to teach Marathi as the third language in Bihar or elsewhere in the country?' Raj Thackeray asked at a press conference on Wednesday. The MNS chief has also written to school principals, advising them against implementing the order. The Congress targeted the government, saying the latter 'was merely playing with words'. 'This is a part of the RSS's strategy of imposing Hindi on all regions and destroying the regional culture,' alleged Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the three-language formula is as per the recommendations of the New Education Policy (NEP). 'We are backing English but hating Indian languages. This is not appropriate. Indian languages are better than English… Earlier, we had said that the third language should be Hindi. Now we have removed the 'mandatory' clause. Students can learn any other third language, but there should be 20 students in a class. We will provide teachers. We will also provide online teaching,' Fadnavis said.
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Maharashtra: SCERT issues revised timetable to introduce third language in primary schools
Mumbai: A day after the Maharashtra government issued a revised government resolution (GR) making a third language compulsory in state-run schools, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) on Thursday released a new daily academic timetable. The revised schedule adjusts teaching hours across subjects to accommodate the third language from Class 1 onwards. As per the circular, the changes are aimed at aligning the total annual instructional hours with the National Curriculum Framework's (NCF's) requirement of 990 academic hours. However, to allot teaching hours for the third language, the SCERT has reduced teaching time for subjects like art education, physical training, and work experience, now renamed as 'work education'. As per the NCF, the third language is also supposed to be taught only from Class 5. The revised timetable has drawn criticism from educationists and school principals, who said that the changes could compromise students' overall learning experience, especially in areas meant to foster creativity and physical development. According to the revised plan, the number of teaching hours for core subjects like the first and second languages and mathematics remains largely in line with NCF recommendations, which are in accordance with the National Education Policy 2020. However, art education, which the NCF suggests should be taught for 144 hours annually, has now been allotted just 81.67 hours under the new SCERT schedule. The SCERT has also, for the first time, provided a sample timetable to help schools plan their academic day. While the sample timetable itself is not mandatory, the subject-wise allocation of teaching hours must be followed. Unlike the NCF's recommendation of 45- to 50-minute periods, the Maharashtra government has opted for shorter 35-minute sessions. However, two consecutive periods may be combined to provide extended time for certain subjects. The SCERT circular clarified that the revised daily schedule, as per the GR dated June 17, will apply to state board schools of all language mediums for class 1 this academic year and then class 2 from next year. Mahendra Ganpule, former spokesperson of the State Principals Association, questioned the logic behind introducing a third language from Class 1. 'Without any clear rationale, the government has introduced a third language from the very beginning of schooling. And now, they've issued a timetable that cuts into the time meant for other important subjects. The NCF doesn't even mandate instructional hours for the third language at the foundational level. Then why is the government insisting on pushing it?' he said. The state's June 17 GR had earlier drawn flak for making Hindi the default third language unless at least 20 students in a class opt for an alternative. Education experts and opposition leaders said it was in effect a backdoor entry of the state's earlier proposal to make Hindi a compulsory language in state board schools.
Indian Express
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
SCERT releases revised timetable structure for Class 1 to accomodate third language
The State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) on Thursday released a revised timetable structure for Class 1 to accommodate a third language. This came a day after the Maharashtra government issued a revised Government Resolution (GR) stating that Hindi will be taught as the third language in Marathi and English medium schools across the state for Classes 1 to 5. With the new timetable, the stipulated minutes to be spent on each subject have been reduced, creating a major gap from what is recommended under National Curriculum Framework (NCF). The document released by SCERT, adds a third language to Classes 1 and 2 formally, as until now, the only official document in this regard, which is State Curriculum Framework-Foundation Stage (FS), recommended only two languages for these classes, as per NCF. 'The changes will be applicable to Class 1 from academic year 2025-26. Whereas for Class 2, these changes will be applied after the introduction of the new syllabus and curriculum as per the SCF,' states the document released by SCERT Director Rahul Rekhawar. Even as the NCF-recommended timetable structure suggests 50 to 60 minutes spent on each subject, the state's revised timetable structure reduced it to 35 minutes. 'This was bound to happen as the NCF-FS includes only seven subjects, whereas the state has added one more subject by introducing a third language from Class 1. To accommodate the additional subject, time spent on all other subjects has been reduced,' said Mahendra Ganpule, former head of the Maharashtra School Principals Association. The note released by SCERT also provides a sample timetable. It states 'Schools can design their own timetable, based on their timings. But they will have to stick to the stipulated time mandate per subject.' According to schools, this announcement has come very late as schools have already started and structuring the timetable is finalised way before that. 'Now that we are almost a week into the new academic year, a new timetable guideline has been issued. Schools have already started with the timetable structure issued in the past in the SCF-FS, which does not include a third language for Class 1,' said a senior teacher. Schools have also complained that the government has included a new subject into the timetable structure for Class 1, without clarity on teachers to teach the third language, alternatives to Hindi, and curriculum guidelines.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Row over Hindi: Marathi literary body opposes three-language formula
The Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal, an apex Marathi literary body, has opposed the Maharashtra government's decision to adopt a three-language formula for classes 1 to 5, claiming the New Education Policy does not recommend it. The Mahamandal's statement came on Wednesday (June 18, 2025) amid opposition from the Congress and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to an amended government order issued on Tuesday which said Hindi would "generally" be a third language for these classes. "It is clearly mentioned [in NEP] that a third language should be introduced from Class 6," a release from the Mahamandal said. It also questioned the need to teach a third language when many schools do not have enough teachers, and students of higher classes struggle to read Marathi books of Class 2 level. "Instead of improving the quality of education, attempts are being made to make a third language compulsory," it claimed. Though the state government has provided that students can opt for any other Indian language instead of Hindi, it would be practically impossible as teachers of these languages will have to be brought from a respective state which is very difficult, it said. The Mahamandal claimed its opposition to Hindi was for cultural reasons as Hindi's "invasion" of Marathi was increasing. It also asked why the Maharashtra government has adopted such a policy when Hindi is not compulsory from Class 1 in any other State. A government resolution (GR) issued on Tuesday said Hindi will "generally" be a third language, instead of being mandatory, but gave an option to opt out if 20 students per grade in a school express the desire to study any other Indian language. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said, "We had earlier made Hindi compulsory, but in the GR issued yesterday, that compulsion has been removed... students can now opt for any Indian language as a third language."
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Hindi default 3rd language in Maharashtra schools unless 20 students pick alternative
Mumbai: Hindi will not be a compulsory third language in Maharashtra state board schools, but it will be the default choice unless at least 20 students in a class opt for an alternative language, according to a government resolution (GR) issued late Tuesday. This comes months after the Maharashtra government's proposal to make Hindi compulsory starting from Class 1 triggered widespread criticism from educationists and opposition political parties, who considered it an imposition of Hindi and an undermining of Marathi. The revised order has reignited criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti government on the topic, with experts and opposition leaders saying it was in effect a backdoor entry of the compulsory-Hindi policy and a betrayal of the Marathi people. As per the new GR, issued by the state school education department, while a third language is mandatory, Hindi will no longer be compulsory. However, it will 'in general' be the third language for Classes 1-5 in Marathi- and English-medium schools. Schools or parents may choose an alternative Indian language, provided that at least 20 students in a class opt for it. If this threshold is met, a teacher for that language will be appointed, or it will be taught online. The GR is part of the ongoing implementation of the State Curriculum Framework for School Education 2024, which is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Critics argued that while the GR appears to offer flexibility, it effectively imposes Hindi by making it difficult to opt for other languages. 'This is again the compulsion of Hindi in another form,' said an education expert, pointing out the practical hurdles in securing a teacher for a different language or getting 20 students per class to opt for it. The new directive appears to contradict the statements of state education minister Dadaji Bhuse in April, assuring that Hindi would not be imposed. After a GR proposing Hindi as a compulsory third language from Class 1 triggered widespread backlash, Bhuse had said that Hindi would no longer be mandatory in the early grades. He later said that the government had received suggestions to introduce Hindi from Class 3 instead, adding that the decision was being reconsidered. He had also said that the three-language formula was 'on hold'. Education experts expressed strong dissent over the new GR. 'The government wants to come in through the back door and crush Marathi children by burdening their fragile brains with Hindi,' said Ramesh Panse, senior educationist and member of the steering committee for the State Curriculum Framework. 'The parents of Marathi children should foil this plot. Political parties that claim to support Marathi must wake up and oppose this policy on a large scale to protect Marathi students.' Vasant Kalpande, former director of school education, argued that the requirement for 20 students to opt for a non-Hindi language and the provision to teach such languages only online are veiled attempts to discourage their selection. 'Although Marathi and Hindi share a similar script, it is too much to expect young students to understand the differences and nuances between them at such an early age,' said Kalpande. He added that Hindi is not a compulsory third language in states like Gujarat and Assam. Deepak Pawar, founder of the Marathi Bhasha Abhyas Kendra, which works to promote the Marathi language, accused the Maharashtra government of breaking its promise. 'The government has betrayed the Marathi people. If we stay silent now, it will pave the way for dismantling the federal structure and erasing the legacy of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement,' he said.
