Maharashtra Hits Pause on Hindi Mandate: Kids Get Language Freedom in Early Years

In a noteworthy shift in policy, the Maharashtra administration has declared that Hindi will not be obligatory for students in Classes 1 to 5 in schools functioning with the English and Marathi media for the next academic year. Hindi will instead be offered as an elective subject for students following a massive backlash from multiple stakeholders and political parties, with the implementation of the previous decision.

 

The state's School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse confirmed on Tuesday that the government will maintain Hindi as an elective subject for the time being following backlash regarding an earlier decision to introduce it as a compulsory third language. “For the moment, we will leave Hindi as an elective. We will decide regarding other subjects in due course. Those students who are interested in Hindi language will learn Hindi along with Marathi and English. Government decision in this regards will be released as soon as possible,” Bhuse stated.

 

The initial decision to introduce Hindi as compulsory received significant backlash from opposition parties and regional leaders who stated it jeopardized the Marathi language and body. The government's language consultation committee even urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to reverse the decision claiming that a broader conversation needed to take place.

 

Although the three-language formula established under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 would remain, students would no longer be obligated to study Hindi as the third language. If a large cohort of students wished to have other languages in place of Hindi, schools would be expected to accommodate their language requests.

 

It is expected that a changed government resolution will come out soon to confirm that Hindi will remain elective for Classes 1 to 5 and reaffirm that Marathi would also be prioritized in the range of subjects.

 

Source: The Economic Times