Maharashtra appoints members to three-language policy panel

The Maharashtra government on Friday appointed six members to the committee set up to study the implementation of the three-language policy in State-run schools.

The government had named economist and educationist Narendra Jadhav as the chairperson of the panel following widespread opposition against the introduction of Hindi as the third language in primary education.

Members appointed on Friday include academics, a theatre personality, a linguist, education experts and a child psychologist. The committee has three months to submit a report on the implementation of the three-language policy as per the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Laxmikant Deshmukh, the Maharashtra government’s language consultation committee chief, said they will continue to oppose the Narendra Jadhav-led panel as it has been formed on the premise of “forcibly introducing Hindi” in primary education, in contravention of the NEP 2020 provisions.

‘Oppose the panel’

“We have opposed the [constitution of the] Narendra Jadhav panel itself. The National Education Policy 2020 clearly states that Hindi must be introduced after Class 5. Despite this, the government has appointed a committee. This is meaningless,” he said.

Earlier this year, the State government had made Hindi compulsory as the third language from Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi- and English-medium State-run schools. Students were given the option of choosing any other Indian language as the third option if at least 20 of them were in agreement. The decision met stiff opposition from several prominent linguistic bodies, parents’ groups, and sociopolitical organisations, forcing the government to scrap the rule.

The State government then constituted the Jadhav committee to study the implementation of the three-language policy. However, no other members had been appointed to the panel until now.