Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis
Against the backdrop of a planned agitation by Marathi litterateurs, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday reiterated that teaching Marathi is mandatory in all the schools in the state-affiliated to any Central or state education boards.
However, despite this, the government has learned that some boards like the CBSE and ICSC are not complying with the norms.
"We shall ensure that Marathi education is made compulsory and shall tighten the norms accordingly," Fadnavis said in the state legislature today.
If needed, the laws or rules would be amended to ensure Marathi education in all schools under any education board they may be functioning, he added, replying to concerns raised by Shiv Sena senior Legislative Council member Neelam Gorhe.
Prominent Marathi literary personalities, including those from the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, have announced a major protest in Azad Maidan, in Mumbai on June 24 to demand stringent rules to enforce the teaching of state's main language in all schools, on the lines of Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
Other demands include constructing a 'Marathi Bhavan' in Mumbai or allot four floors from the Air India Building which the state government is planning to buy, prepare a master-plan to ensure Marathi schools in the state don't shut down, and to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get Marathi declared as a "classical language".
