MUMBAI: Marathi instruction in schools is set to come under stricter scrutiny, with state govt warning of penalties of up to Rs 1 lakh for institutions that fail to comply with teaching requirements for the language.A government resolution (GR) issued on Friday flags that “in many schools, especially private English-medium institutions, Marathi is not being taught”, and sets out a step-by-step mechanism to penalise errant management.This GR is another example of the state’s hardline enforcement push on Marathi language. On Tuesday, transport minister Pratap Sarnaik announced that from May 1, all taxi and autorickshaw drivers in Maharashtra are required to clear oral and written Marathi competency tests, warning that licences of those who fail to meet the requirement will be cancelled. The move has caused discontent among drivers’ unions, who have threatened to challenge it in court.According to Friday’s GR, which lists additional instructions to penalise schools violating the provisions regarding compulsory teaching and learning of Marathi in schools issued in 2020, divisional deputy directors of education will act as the enforcement authority. Schools will be issued notices and given 15 days to respond, after which fines of up to Rs 1 lakh may be imposed for non-compliance. “…the school concerned will be given an opportunity to appeal against the decision within 30 days. If the order is not complied with even after the appeal, action will be taken to cancel its recognition (from the following academic year). The final decision in this regard will be made within three months after holding a hearing at the level of the school education commissioner…,” the GR said.“We have received many complaints that schools aren’t teaching Marathi and in many cases haven’t even appointed a Marathi teacher. Therefore, we are simply clarifying the rules and regulations,” said Tushar Mahajan, deputy secretary, school education department.“As per our surveys, almost all schools in the city do teach Marathi with the exception of a few Kendriya Vidyalayas, over whom we did not have jurisdiction earlier, but they too will start teaching Marathi,” said Rajesh Kankal, deputy director of education, Mumbai region. (Inputs by Chaitanya Marpakwar)
