Amid the ongoing language row related to the three-language formula in Maharashtra, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has come out lashing at his opposition political counterparts. Veteran Congress leader Chavan said that controversy over the `imposition` of the Hindi language in Maharashtra was being created to divert people`s attention from core issues and underlined the need to improve the quality of education.
Claiming a drastic cut in the budgetary allocation for education, the former Maharashtra chief minister said the focus should be on providing quality education to students and strengthening infrastructure in the educational sector.
As reported by PTI, former Union Minister Prithiviraj Chavan on Friday highlighted that “the budgetary allocation on education should be increased. The controversies over English and the imposition of Hindi are irrelevant and being created to divert focus from the core issues.”
Chavan also claimed that 41 per cent of posts of teachers in IITs are lying vacant in Maharashtra. “Similarly, 70 per cent of vacancies in agriculture universities are not filled.”
The language row erupted after the state government last week issued an amended order stating Hindi will “generally” be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools from Classes 1 to 5.
According to the order, if 20 students per grade in a school wish to study any other Indian language, they can opt out of Hindi. If such a demand arises, either a teacher will be appointed, or the language will be taught online, as per PTI.
Opposition parties, however, dubbed the move a default imposition of Hindi as a third language.
The controversy has united estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray for the cause of the Marathi language. The Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS will take out a joint morcha in Mumbai on July 5. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) has extended its support to the protest march.
Chavan’s statement on the Marathi language row came after Raj and Uddhav Thackeray announced a joint protest from Girgaon to Azad Maidan against the state`s three-language policy. The rally will be aimed at opposing the imposition of Hindi in Maharashtra’s school curriculum. It is set to begin at Girgaon Chowpatty and culminate at Azad Maidan.
(With PTI Inputs)
