Nearly 1.5 lakh teachers across Maharashtra had written to the govt urging it to turn down the SCERT proposal.
Hindi teachers across the state breathed a sigh of relief on Monday, with the state education minister likely to reject the proposal of the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) to do away with Hindi in class V and introduce it from class VI onwards.
Nearly 1.5 lakh teachers in the state, fearing unemployment, wrote to the state government urging it to turn down the proposal.
Anil Joshi, president, Maharashtra Rajya Hindi Shikshak Mahanandal, said, “We had carried out a signature campaign in 35 districts in the state, and till date, over a lakh Hindi teachers signed it. We gave the state government a copy of it along with our petition. School education minister Rajendra Darda had assured us that he will look into the matter.”
The SCERT proposal stated that Hindi should be removed from the Class V syllabus for non-Hindi medium schools in the state. The subject would be introduced in Class VI as a composite paper, and this would enable students to opt for Hindi for 50 marks, and choose an additional language, either a vernacular or foreign language, for another 50 marks. At present, students have the option of a composite paper only from Class VIII onwards.
Joshi said, “This would have only benefitted students from urban areas, since subjects such as French or Spanish are rarely taken up by rural students. Many of the latter face problems owing to their lack of control over Hindi. Also, both Marathi and Hindi are based on the Devanagari script. So, they find it easier to learn Hindi than any other language.”
Rajesh Pandya, vice-president of Mumbai Prantiya Rashtrabhasha Prachar Sabha, said, “Nearly 50,000 to 60,000 teachers would stand to lose their jobs if Hindi is made an optional subject. It would also lower the importance of the national language, and students will find it difficult to learn.”
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