The six-member three-language committee completed its statewide tour of Maharashtra on Friday, holding its final public consultation at Mumbai's Y B Chavan Centre in Nariman Point. The session brought together educationists, teachers, activists, and students who presented diverse viewpoints on language education in the state.
Key Recommendations from Stakeholders
During the extensive consultation, two primary demands emerged repeatedly from participants. Multiple speakers advocated for making Marathi compulsory until Class 12 and introducing Hindi teaching from Class 5 onwards. Civic school teacher Anil Dahiya particularly emphasized this position during the discussions.
Committee chairman Narendra Jadhav noted that science students had previously reported challenges with advanced Marathi after Class 10. In response, the panel is considering developing a lower-level Marathi syllabus specifically tailored for students in science streams.
Diverse Perspectives on Language Education
Other participants offered varied suggestions reflecting the complexity of language education. A teacher from Chhabildas High School in Dadar proposed introducing classical Indian languages like Pali and Prakrit as optional subjects from Class 9.
Minal Surve, representing a city junior college, argued that only one language should remain compulsory after Class 10. She observed that students often replace a second language with ICT or computer science, resulting in neglect of both Marathi and Hindi.
Madhav Suryavanshi of Shikshan Vikas Manch suggested a balanced approach where all three languages—Marathi, Hindi, and English—would remain compulsory until Class 12, but Hindi as a third language would begin only from Class 5.
Innovative Approaches and Competitive Exam Concerns
Committee chairman Narendra Jadhav also spoke about potentially offering languages in a self-taught, online format, with partial credit awarded to students similar to physical education assessments.
Significant concerns emerged regarding Hindi's role in competitive examinations. An activist pointed out that students who opt for lower-level Hindi or drop the subject entirely face disadvantages in exams like MPSC, which include a mandatory Hindi paper. Jadhav responded that this effectively constitutes Hindi being "imposed" and suggested the requirement needs reconsideration.
Several participants, including teacher Mumtaz Haq, supported early exposure to all three languages through engaging methods. They recommended teaching through stories, audio-visual aids, and play-way approaches while avoiding examinations and undue pressure on younger students.
The three-language committee has now completed touring most of Maharashtra, gathering extensive public input on the optimal formula for teaching languages in the state's education system.
