To make sure that students from different education boards, schools of various mediums, and other states are treated equally with students from the state education board, the state government has decided to make learning three languages compulsory. This is also called the “three-language formula.”
Former Education and Cultural Affairs Minister, Adv. Ashish Shelar, explained in a press conference that this decision is taken in the interest of students. He said that Marathi is compulsory in the state, but Hindi is not required from Grade 1. He also mentioned that whether students should start learning their first, second, or third language from Grade 4 is still a flexible and open topic for discussion.
Shelar criticised the claim that Hindi will be made compulsory from the beginning, saying it is unrealistic and illogical. He stressed that they strongly support Marathi. He also pointed out that 22 states in India have already adopted the three-language formula.
In many English, Urdu, Tamil, and Gujarati medium schools in Maharashtra, students are already being taught three languages from Grade 1. Similarly, in schools under other boards like CBSE and ICSE, students also study three languages. Around 20% of students in the state study in these types of schools. These students receive grades based on credit points.
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To prevent state board students from falling behind students of other boards, the government wants to make sure everyone learns equally. Also, since national-level competitive exams are held in 22 different languages, it's important for students to learn a third language early on so they’re not at a disadvantage later.
Before making this decision, the government held long discussions. A group of 450 experts and education officers studied the matter. The three-language policy was debated for a year, and more than 3,800 suggestions from the public were received and reviewed. After all this, the three-language formula was finally approved.
The current government has removed the rule that made Hindi compulsory from Grades 5 to 8. Now, students can choose Hindi or any other language as an optional subject. There are 15 languages available to choose from as the third language. The idea of a three-language formula was first suggested in 1968, based on the Kothari Commission’s reports from 1964 and 1966. It recommended learning Hindi as a third language to promote national unity and social harmony.
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