The Maharashtra government’s language consultation committee on Sunday unanimously opposed the decision to make Hindi compulsory from first standard in schools.
The panel’s chief Laxmikant Deshmukh has written to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. requesting him to revoke the earlier decision.
On April 17, the state government made the teaching of Hindi compulsory as a third language from Class 1 in all state board schools, alongside Marathi and English in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP).
Rahul Ashok Rekhawar, director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Maharashtra, said that the decision was taken by the School Education Department on April 16.
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“On behalf of the Maharashtra Government, the School Education Department has taken a decision in which teaching Hindi language along with Marathi and English has been made compulsory from class 1 in all the schools of the state board. This decision has been made with all the appointments and their development in view, and the students will definitely benefit from it,” Rekhawar told ANI.
After the opposition parties opposed the move, Fadnavis was quoted by ANI as saying,”Marathi language is compulsory in Maharashtra; everyone should learn it. Additionally, if you wish to learn other languages, you can do so. Opposition to Hindi and promotion of English is surprising. If someone opposes Marathi, then it will not be tolerated.”
Maha Vikas Aghadi protests Hindi move
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) hit out at the ruling Mahayuti government.
“I was first to oppose the education minister’s statement about making the CBSE board compulsory in Maharashtra. What is the need to replace the existing state board with CBSE? Before discussing the language issue, we must talk about the basic education infrastructure in the state,” NCP(SP) MP Supriya Sule was quoted by PTI as saying.
Former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said,”We will do everything if you ask (us) with affection, but if you impose anything, we will oppose it. Why this force for (learning) Hindi?”
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar strongly opposed the decision, asking the government not to “impose” the language.
“You can keep it optional, but you cannot impose it. At whose behest are you trying to impose this language on the state?” the Congress leader asked.”We consider Marathi our mother tongue, and this third language that is being introduced should not be brought in. There should be no coercion against the rights of the Marathi people — this is our demand,” the Congress leader told ANI.
(With agency inputs)