Mumbai, 24 June

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said a final decision on the three-language formula will be taken only after consultations with all stakeholders, including litterateurs, language experts and political leaders.

Fadnavis chaired a meeting at his official residence in south Mumbai late Monday night to deliberate on the issue.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, School Education Minister Dada Bhuse, Minister of State Dr Pankaj Bhoyar and senior officials from the education department were present.

The 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 had maintained that 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 Hindi.

During the meeting chaired by CM Fadnavis on Monday, detailed discussions were held on the implications of the three-language policy under the New Education Policy (NEP).

It was decided that the actual ground situation in various states will be presented for reference, and a comprehensive presentation would be made on the academic impact, especially with regard to Marathi students, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office said.

"It was agreed that a structured consultation process be conducted with scholars, writers, political leaders and other stakeholders before arriving at a final decision," Fadnavis said in the statement.

Following the meeting, School Education Minister Dada Bhuse is expected to initiate the next phase of consultations, the statement said.

After the meeting, Bhuse told reporters that the state government will hold discussions with various stakeholders, including political leaders and litterateurs, to address concerns over the implementation of the NEP.

All decisions have been taken keeping the interest of students at the forefront, he asserted.

Bhuse said a review meeting was held earlier on Monday to assess previous decisions made under the NEP framework.

"We will engage with all concerned, whether it is (MNS chief) Raj Thackeray or noted writers. We will place all facts before them and explain that the policy has been implemented after a thorough study, ensuring our students do not lag behind," he said.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) head Raj Thackeray last week asked what was the need to "impose" Hindi on students and appealed to schools in the state to foil the government's "hidden agenda to deliberately create a language divide".

Hindi is the state language of some northern states and it is wrong to force it on Maharashtra, where Marathi is widely used, he asserted.

Bhuse said while formulating the education policy, the government has always prioritised students' welfare and is open to suggestions from all quarters.

"We will meet those who have raised objections and are hopeful of a positive outcome through dialogue," he said.

Bhuse also said the government would share a comparative analysis of the situation in Maharashtra and other states to support its decisions.

Earlier, Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar on Monday made it clear that only Marathi is mandatory in the state, and not Hindi, and said the ongoing controversy on teaching a third language in schools was "unreasonable and illogical".

Talking to reporters here, Shelar insisted teaching Hindi has not been introduced as a mandatory third language from Classes 1 to 5 as being claimed in some quarters.

"In 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.

"We are staunch supporters of the Marathi language and equally committed to the interest of students," averred Shelar, who is also the Mumbai BJP president.