Mumbai | July 9 | Correspondent
(Mumbai news) Raj Thackeray, chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, held an in-depth discussion yesterday (July 8) with representatives of the School Education Study and Action Coordination Committee at his Shivtirth residence. The meeting, held at 10:30 a.m., focused on key issues in school education, the condition of Marathi schools, and matters of linguistic identity.
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(Mumbai news) Dr. Deepak Pawar, the committee’s convener, goodwill ambassador of Marathi schools Chinmayee Sumeet, and secretary Anand Bhandare participated in the meeting. The demands raised during a recent protest and the committee’s position were presented before Raj Thackeray.
(Mumbai news) Thackeray strongly opposed the state government’s attempt to make a third language compulsory from Class 1, a move initiated during the Fadnavis administration. Due to growing public sentiment against this, the Narendra Jadhav Committee was formed. However, Raj Thackeray firmly stated that the imposition of a third language from Class 1 would never be acceptable, reassuring that there was no need for concern regarding the committee’s report on the issue.
The committee raised concern that SCERT Director Rahul Rekhawar was inappropriately attempting to mandate the implementation of NCERT textbooks through Balbharti. They feared this would reduce Balbharti to a mere warehouse of translated books.
Highlighting the urgent need to empower Marathi schools, Raj Thackeray proposed the idea of establishing ‘Model Marathi Schools’. He also mentioned the potential for implementing various schemes through municipal corporations to promote the Marathi language. He requested the committee to present a detailed note on these proposals in the next meeting. This information was shared by Dr. Deepak Pawar, a committed advocate for Maharashtra’s identity and the Marathi language.
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