Mumbai: In a virtual snub to Shiv Sena, the
Maharashtra Government on Friday said it would adopt a policy for
giving equal importance to English along with Marathi in
school education.
"The government is planning to adopt a policy to give
equal importance to Marathi and English in school education
and we need help from all members of the state legislature to
implement it," School Education Minister Balasaheb Thorat
told the Legislative Council.
His statement came against the backdrop of Opposition
Shiv Sena getting aggressive on the Marathi agenda.
"It is important to know Marathi, but only giving
speeches would not help develop the language," Thorat said.
Considering the importance of English as a global
language, the government has already started teaching English
from standard first in Marathi medium schools, he said, adding
that English medium schools also teach Marathi.
On Opposition`s allegation that there have been an
increase in number of English medium schools and decline in
Marathi medium schools in the state, Thorat said only five per
cent schools in the state are English medium and most of them
are in urban areas.
"There is always an option available for students who
want to learn in Marathi medium," he said.
"Now the government`s focus would be on improving quality
of teaching the languages in schools," Thorat said.
PTI
