Jaipur: The state education department is considering starting Hindi-medium classes alongside English-medium classes in 157 Mahatma Gandhi Govt English Medium Schools amid low enrolment in these institutions.The department has asked district education officers to submit details of English-medium schools with low enrolment where Hindi-medium classes can be introduced. Proposals have been prepared for dual-medium instruction in 157 of the 346 low-enrolment schools identified across the state.“We have sought additional information from these 157 schools so that Hindi-medium classes can be started. This will ensure that students around these schools get proper education,” a department official said.Officials said the govt has opted to introduce Hindi-medium classes instead of closing or merging the schools. The move is aimed at providing admission opportunities to Hindi-medium students and making better use of the schools’ unused academic capacity.Last year, conditional approval was granted to introduce Hindi-medium options in 98 Mahatma Gandhi Govt English Medium Schools. The move was intended to address the issue of students being left without a Hindi-medium option after existing Hindi-medium govt schools were converted into English-medium schools.Meanwhile, govt schoolteachers have urged the department to avoid delays caused by procedural formalities while admitting Hindi-medium students.Mahendra Pandey, general secretary of Rajasthan Primary and Secondary Teachers’ Association, said, “The curriculum, examination board, testing procedures and evaluation systems are identical for both Hindi and English mediums. Therefore, if even a handful of students in a school wish to study in Hindi medium, they should be granted admission immediately.”
