Only Marathi is mandatory in Maharashtra, and not Hindi: Ashish Shelar

Maharashtra Cultural Affairs Minister and Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar on Monday made it clear that only Marathi is mandatory in the state and not Hindi reported the PTIHe said that the ongoing controversy on teaching a third language in schools was unreasonable and illogicalTalking to reporters in Mumbai Ashish Shelar insisted teaching Hindi has not been introduced as a mandatory third language from Classes 1 to 5 as being claimed in some quartersIn fact our government has removed the earlier compulsion of teaching Hindi from Classes 5 to 8 Instead we have made it Hindi available as an optional choice alongside several other languages Therefore the ongoing discussion around the issue is unrealistic unreasonable and illogical he said according to the PTIWe are staunch supporters of the Marathi language and equally committed to the interest of students said Ashish ShelarThe state government last week issued an amended order stating Hindi will generally be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools from Classes 1 to 5 The government maintained Hindi would not be compulsory but mandated consent of at least 20 students per grade in a school for studying any Indian language other than HindiCommenting on the ongoing debate over Hindi the BJP minister noted Criticism arising from misunderstanding is acceptable in a democracy Some people are also taking to protests which is their rightShelar cautioned against misconceptions and false narratives surrounding the introduction of Hindi as a third language in primary schools in the stateThe BJP has always been a strong proponent of Marathi and student welfare In Maharashtra only Marathi has been made mandatory No other language has been imposed Previously Hindi was compulsory from Classes 5 to 8 but this mandate has now been removed Hindi is now only offered as one of the optional third language choices from Classes 1 to 5 and with flexibility in selection he pointed out as per the PTIAshish Shelar explained that 15 languages have been made available to students under the third language option and Hindi is just one of themA comprehensive study was conducted on this matter A committee of government officers and more than 450 experts from linguistic and academic fields deliberated for over a year and prepared a draft This draft was opened for peoples suggestions and objections receiving over 3800 responses After analysing them a steering committee submitted a report to the government recommending Hindi as one of the optional third language choices Shelar arguedHe pointed out that the National Education Policy NEP 2020 does not mandate any particular third language but recommends choosing it as per need of studentsHad the BJP intended to impose Hindi or any other language we would have done so when finalizing the NEP Hence the accusations made against our intentions are completely baseless and irrational contended the minister according to the PTIReferring to historical context he said The threelanguage formula was introduced in 1968 The 1964 and 1966 Education Commission reports recommended learning Hindi as the third language for national integration Hence the current debate is unreasonableHe said 968776 students are enrolled in Class 1 under the Maharashtra State Board of which 10 per cent study in nonMarathi medium schools An additional 10 per cent are enrolled in CBSE IGCSE International General Certificate of Secondary Education Cambridge and IB boardsDue to the 2020 mandate for Marathi these 20 per cent of students now study three languages English their native language and Marathi the Mumbai BJP chief maintainedIf we decide to limit students from Marathimedium schools to just two languages it will lead to academic inequality The new NEP emphasizes skill development and diverse learning awarding extra academic credits for subjects like arts and languages which are counted in the Academic Bank of Credits Students who dont learn a third language will fall behind by at least 10 per cent in earning these credits Ashish Shelar explained according to the PTINationallevel competitive exams though conducted in 22 languages often expect a third language If Maharashtra doesnt offer this option students here will be disadvantaged compared to those from other states argued the ministerwith PTI inputs