Hindi spoken largely in public life, learning it will benefit students: Maharashtra Minister

Mumbai: Maharashtra minister Dada Bhuse on Wednesday defended the government's decision of Hindi to be taught as the third language in schools, saying it is widely used in daily communication and will help Class 12 students in higher education.

The school education minister also warned of strict action against schools not teaching Marathi, as per the curriculum.

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday issued an order saying Hindi will "generally" be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools in the state from classes 1 to 5.

The amended government resolution (GR) said Hindi will "generally" be the third language, instead of being mandatory, and gave an option to opt out if 20 students per grade in a school express the desire to study any Indian language other than Hindi.

Some pro-Marathi outfits accused the government of reintroducing the policy through the "backdoor" after initially backtracking, and the opposition Congress accused the Devendra Fadnavis-led government of "stabbing" the Marathi people in the chest.

Bhuse noted that while an earlier government communication used the word "mandatory" for Hindi, the revised order issued on Tuesday described it as "generally" the third language, a subtle shift which critics have flagged as ambiguous.

The minister, however, defended the government's decision, saying learning Hindi will benefit students.

"Learning Hindi is important because it is largely used for communication in public life," the minister told reporters here.

"After the 12th standard, the Union government has given importance to scores in the third language as well. In such a policy, students from Maharashtra should not fall behind; hence the three-language policy is accepted," he said.

"Hence, learning Hindi will benefit students in the long run," Bhuse said.

He pointed out that Hindi is already being taught from class 5 in Marathi and English-medium schools, while in non-Marathi-medium schools, Marathi remains compulsory and English is taught as the third language.

Addressing concerns over the imposition of Hindi, Bhuse said students will be given the option to choose another Indian language as the third language.

"If students opt for any other language, we are making arrangements for that. If fewer students select it, the language will be taught online or through other available medium. The decision to select a third language is left to students and their parents," he added.

It could help students to improve their merit, the minister said.

He also said strict action would be taken against schools not teaching Marathi as per the curriculum.

"If any school is found not teaching Marathi, we will issue warnings. If they fail to comply, we will take action such as cancelling the school's registration," he said.

Bhuse acknowledged that several Marathi-medium schools in the state have shut down over the years and there is a decline in enrolments in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools.

"It is a fact that student enrolment in many Marathi schools is on a decline. We have to accept the reality. Even schools run by municipal corporations have reported losing students to other schools. We will welcome all suggestions to improve the situation," he said.

Responding to a separate query, Bhuse said the government plans to appoint around 9,000 new teachers in the next one-and-a-half months.