No 'compulsion' to learn Hindi as 3rd language: Fadnavis on row over govt order
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Pune (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the "compulsion" for students in the state to learn Hindi has been removed in a new order, and now any Indian language can be chosen as the third language.
While English is widely promoted, Indian languages are often neglected, Fadnavis told reporters in Dehu and maintained that disputes over languages are unnecessary.
The state government on Tuesday issued an order saying Hindi will "generally" be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools from classes 1 to 5.
The amended government resolution (GR) said Hindi will "generally" be the third language, instead of being mandatory, and gave an option to opt out if 20 students per grade in a school express the desire to study any Indian language other than Hindi.
Some pro-Marathi outfits accused the government of reintroducing the policy through the "backdoor" after initially backtracking, and the opposition Congress accused the government of "stabbing" the Marathi people in the chest.
MNS head Raj Thackeray 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.
Fadnavis said the GR clearly states that Marathi is compulsory, while Hindi is optional.
"We had earlier made Hindi compulsory, but in the GR issued yesterday, that compulsion has been removed. As per the new GR, students can opt for any third Indian language," the CM said.
The three-language formula was proposed in the New Education Policy (NEP). According to the policy, the mother tongue is mandatory, and apart from that, students will learn two other languages, one of which should be an Indian language, he said.
"Naturally, many people choose English as one of the three languages," Fadnavis said.
He said that earlier, Hindi was proposed as the third language because its teachers are available in good numbers.
"We have now removed that rule. Any Indian language can be chosen as the third language. If there are at least 20 students, a teacher will be made available. If necessary, online education will also be facilitated," the CM said.
He said while everyone promotes English, Indian languages are often neglected, which is not appropriate.
"Indian languages are better than English. I understand that English is a language of communication, but because of the NEP, Marathi has become a language of knowledge. We have started teaching engineering in Marathi, something that wasn't done earlier," Fadnavis said.
"Our doctors are now receiving education in Marathi. MBA (course) is also being taught in Marathi. Because of the NEP, Marathi is becoming a global language, a language of knowledge and economics, and the Maharashtra government has adopted this move. I believe such disputes over languages are unnecessary," he said.
On Raj Thackeray's opposition to the new order, Fadnavis said he has already spoken to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) head.
"He (Thackeray) is insisting that only two languages should be taught and a third language should not be imposed. I tried to explain that the Centre, after a lot of deliberations, introduced the three-language formula in the NEP," the CM said.
"If the entire country is following the three-language formula, Maharashtra cannot adopt a two-language system," he said.
Tamil Nadu (government) had approached the court over the three-language formula, but it did not accept their plea, Fadnavis pointed out.
"I want to ask, what is the harm in learning any third Indian language?" the chief minister said.
"The NEP was formulated after thorough deliberations by experts across the country. While working on the NEP, the cognitive power of children, how to develop their mental capabilities and all these things were taken into consideration," he said.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
