Mumbai: State education minister Dada Bhuse announced in the assembly on Monday that the government would undertake a special inspection drive to enforce the teaching of Marathi in all boards in the state from Standards 1 to 10. This includes central boards and international boards like the IB and IGCSE.“If any violations are found during the inspections, strict action will be taken against the schools and officials concerned,” Bhuse said. He said that schools are expected to conduct examinations in each standard.He urged MLAs to inform the state about violations to the mandatory Marathi language rule in their constituencies.The issue was raised during a question by BJP MLA Atul Bhatkalkar, who flagged concerns over several schools allegedly not implementing the mandatory teaching of Marathi.Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Varun Sardesai alleged that some IB schools had declared that they would not teach Marathi. “How many schools have been sent notices by the government?” he asked.Shiv Sena UBT MLA Sunil Prabhu claimed that several schools taught Marathi but did not conduct exams in the subject.Bhuse said, “The state made it mandatory to teach Marathi in schools from Standards 1 to 10 since 2020. The first violation invites a notice. After that, the penalty is a Rs 1 lakh fine.”In April 2026, the government had introduced a new rule stating that the licence of schools which violate the rule will also be revoked.Bhuse spoke about the inclusion of the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in school textbooks, stating that the coverage had been significantly expanded.He said that while textbooks of other education boards earlier devoted only about one-and-a-half columns to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the content has now been expanded to 22 pages with the approval of the Centre, enabling students to know more about the Maratha king.In the council, concerns were raised over a decline in the number of Marathi-medium schools in Mumbai from 461 to 337. Legislators pointed to a growing preference among parents for English-medium schooling, citing the perceived importance of English in a globalised era as a key driver behind the shift.An MLC said that several Marathi schools face dwindling enrolment, with some being merged into English-medium institutions. As per norms, schools with fewer than 20 students are not allotted teachers, often leading to closure. Poor infrastructure and conditions in some Marathi schools across the state have further accelerated migration to private English-medium institutions.Members also flagged the impact on teachers, many of whom face displacement. An MLC stressed that even schools with small enrolment should be supported, urging the government to ensure teachers are provided and Marathi-medium schools are not shut down.(With inputs from Somit Sen)
