Maharashtra schools face Rs 1 lakh fine for not making Marathi mandatory

NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra education department has made it mandatory for schools affiliated to the state board, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Council of Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) and other boards to teach Marathi language as a compulsory subject. The state education department has recently ordered a Rs 1 lakh fine for schools that haven’t implemented Marathi as a compulsory subject yet, as per various media reports.

Last year, the state legislative council passed the Maharashtra Language in Schools Bill, 2020. According to this, “Marathi language shall be taught as a compulsory subject from Class 1 to 10 in all schools in the State commencing from the Academic Year 2020-21 in a phased manner, as specified in the Schedule.”

However, in the second year of its implementation, the state government received complaints that Marathi was not yet introduced as a compulsory subject and that there was no follow-up on the matter due to Covid-19 lockdown and school closures, according to the Times of India report.

The Maharashtra government was planning to reopen schools after Diwali, however, there is no official announcement yet.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Cabinet has recently approved an amendment in Punjab Learning of Punjabi and other languages Act, 2008 and made Punjabi language as a compulsory subject for students of Classes 1 to 10 in all schools in the state.

The Punjab government has also announced in a notice that schools that break the rule will have to pay a penalty of Rs 50,000, Rs 1 lakh, and Rs 2 lakh if it does so for the first time, second time, and the third time respectively.

Also read | Punjab CM opposes exclusion of Punjabi from major subjects in CBSE exam

In October, Chief minister of Punjab, Charanjit S Channi had opposed the CBSE’s classification of the subjects and called it's decision to keep Punjabi as a minor subject, 'authoritarian' decision of the board.