Make Marathi must in ICSE and CBSE schools: BJP, Sena

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ADJOURNED TWICE

Make Marathi must in ICSE and CBSE schools: BJP, Sena

Ashish.Roy@timesgroup.com

Nagpur:

The state legislative council was adjourned twice on Wednesday as BJP MLCs created a ruckus demanding that schools affiliated to CBSE and ICSE make Marathi a compulsory subject. Shiv Sena MLCs supported this demand.

When school education minister Balasaheb Thorat said he would first study the legislation of other states regarding making the regional language compulsory in CBSE and ICSE schools and then take a decision, BJP MLCs stormed the well of the House and started raising slogans against the government. Sena MLCs stood up on their seats and asked the minister to announce his decision immediately. Chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar adjourned the House twice. Finally, Nimbalkar directed Thorat to convene a meeting on the issue and seek suggestions from MLCs.

BJP and Sena MLCs said Marathi medium schools affiliated to the state board were closing down and the number of schools affiliated to CBSE and ICSE were increasing. “These schools do not teach Marathi and the young generation will not get an opportunity to learn the state language. Hence, Marathi should be made compulsory,” they demanded. Thorat said according to the government resolution, dated August 7, 2009, CBSE and ICSE schools should follow a three-language formula till class VIII and have Marathi as the second language. “But teaching Marathi is not compulsory; it should be available as an optional language,” he added.

In August, the erstwhile BJP-Sena government had formed a committee of Marathi literary and education experts, including ministers, to prepare a draft of law to make Marathi mandatory in all boards, including ICSE and CBSE. The committee was expected to prepare a preliminary draft of relevant legislation after a detailed study of regional languages in other states. As part of the state’s three-language formula, schools teach Marathi for around four years till class VIII. Most city schools said they already follow the rule. “Making Marathi language compulsory up to class X would be problem because our boards would then have to hold an exam for the subject,” said the principal of a CBSE school

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