Punjab Cabinet approves amendment making Punjabi mandatory in Classes 1 to 10: Report

NEW DELHI: The Punjab Cabinet has approved an amendment in Punjab Learning of Punjabi and other languages Act, 2008 that makes Punjabi language as a compulsory subject for students of Classes 1 to 10 in all schools across the state, the Times of India reported.

The Cabinet gave approval to introduce the bill in the current session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, the report said.

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Post amendment, the penalties for violation of the provisions of the Act have been increased from Rs 25,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50,000, Rs 1 lakh, and Rs 2 lakh, the report said.

A spokesman for the Chief Minister told the Times of India that any school that breaks the rule of the said Act 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.

According to the report, the schools include any primary, middle, high school, and senior secondary government schools or those maintained by a local body, panchayat, society or trust. The Central government schools and Navodaya schools will also need to follow the rules of the Act.

Apart from the schools, if any officer is found violating the rules of the Act will be charged with penalties starting from Rs 500 and going upto Rs 5,000, the report said.

In October end, Punjab Chief Minister, Charanjit S Channi opposed the CBSE’s classification of the subjects and called its decision to keep Punjabi as a minor subject, 'authoritarian'. Criticizing the board for inclusion of Punjabi as a minor subject, the chief minister said, the decision of the board is against the federal spirit of the constitution.

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The CBSE had categorized the subjects into two parts, major and minor from this academic session.

Recently, CBSE changed the classification of subjects from major and minor to ‘Subjects offered by all schools’ and ‘subjects offered by fewer schools’ along with other changes.