Protests intensify; Maharashtra government withdraws order making Hindi mandatory in schools

The Maharashtra government has made a U-turn in its decision to make Hindi a compulsory third language in schools up to class 5. The government has withdrawn the order making Hindi compulsory. The decision comes after strong criticism from opposition parties. Education Minister Dada Bhuse announced that Hindi will be an optional subject and Marathi and English will be the priority languages.

The government had issued an order on April 16 making Hindi compulsory as a third language for students from classes 1 to 5. The State Council of Educational Research and Training included this provision in the State School Curriculum Framework-2024.

Later, opposition parties including Shiv Sena, Uddhav Paksha, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar came out strongly against it. They accused the government of imposing Hindi in the state. Following this, the education minister said that the word ‘compulsory’ will be removed and Hindi will be taught as an optional subject.

Students who want to study Hindi can study it along with Marathi and English. A new government order detailing the revised language policy will be issued soon. Earlier, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had defended the mandatory use of Hindi, saying it does not diminish the importance of Marathi.