Nearly three months after Maharashtra’s three-language policy committee submitted its report, the state government is yet to announce whether primary school students in Maharashtra State Board schools will have to learn an additional language. But Balbharati’s newly released textbook list for the 2026-27 academic year has offered the clearest indication yet that the existing language-learning system is likely to continue for now. With no change in the language textbooks prescribed for Classes 2, 3, 4 and 6, educationists say the state appears to be sticking to the current practice under which Marathi- and English-medium schools teach two languages at the primary level, while other mediums continue with three.
The debate around Maharashtra’s three-language policy began after the state government, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, proposed making Hindi a compulsory third language from Class 1 in Marathi- and English-medium state board schools through GRs issued in 2025. The move triggered sharp opposition from educationists, language experts and political parties, who called it an attempt to impose Hindi and questioned introducing a third language at the primary level.
Following the backlash, the state withdrew the GRs and constituted a committee headed by economist and educationist Dr Narendra Jadhav to review how the three-language formula should be implemented in Maharashtra schools. The committee submitted its report in February this year, but the government is yet to announce its recommendations or clarify whether the existing language-learning structure in state board schools will change.
As per a May 7 circular issued by Balbharati announcing the revised textbooks for Classes 2, 3, 4 and 6, the language-learning structure in Maharashtra State Board schools appears unchanged for the upcoming academic year. The list of compulsory books includes My English Book for English learning in all non-English medium schools, Shiku Marathi Anandane (Let’s Learn Marathi Joyfully) for Marathi learning in English-medium schools, and Karu Maitri Marathi Shi (Let’s Befriend Marathi) for students from other mediums such as Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and Telugu.
These textbooks were part of the earlier system as well, and their continuation suggests that no immediate changes are being introduced in the language pattern at the primary level. “Their continuation, although in the revised format, indicates that Marathi and English medium schools under the Maharashtra state board will continue to learn two languages, whereas all other mediums will learn three languages,” said a senior language teacher from a Mumbai school.
Currently, students from Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi- and English-medium Maharashtra State Board schools study only two languages. In English-medium schools, English, the medium of instruction, is taught as the first language and Marathi as the second. In Marathi-medium schools, Marathi is taught as the first language and English as the second.
However, schools of other mediums, such as Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu or Telugu, already follow a three-language structure from the primary level. For instance, Gujarati-medium students learn Gujarati as their first language while Marathi and English are also taught from the beginning, as both are compulsory in Maharashtra schools.
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MLC J M Abhyankar said the absence of any formal communication from the government on changes to the three-language policy suggests that the existing system is likely to continue for now. “If any changes had to be brought in for the upcoming academic year, required directions would have been given to both SCERT and Balbharti, well in advance. But the new curriculum roll-out slated for academic year 2026-27 shows no changes in how many languages are learnt at the primary level in Maharashtra State Board schools,” he said.
