Mumbai: Number of Marathi schools down to 280 from 413 in 10 years, reveals BMC data

No. of students studying in Marathi medium schools has gone down. Representation pic

"Are Marathi schools in Mumbai dying a slow death?" questioned BJP MLA Ameet Satam, who has also written a letter to the chief minister expressing concern over the number of these schools falling drastically over the past 10 years. Data reveals that in 2010-11 there were 413 Marathi civic schools in the city, but the number has seen a steep dip and stands at 280. This comes to fore at a time when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is seen offering popular non-state board curriculum in its schools.

"What has this government done for Marathi language learning? They have never shown any effort in encouraging Marathi medium schools and providing incentives to those preferring Marathi medium. Their love for Marathi seems to be only for political reasons. Bringing non-state board curriculum, such as CBSE, ICSE and Cambridge to BMC schools is just decorative work," said Satam. In the letter he has stated that by the academic year 2027-28 there won't be any Marathi schools left in the city if the current trend continues.

The letter further states, "By making use of the Marathi pride, the ruling party continued to be in power in the local civic body for three decades. But in the past 10 years, the BMC's own Marathi medium schools have shut down. Other than the number of Marathi schools in the city reducing, these institutes also face so many hurdles starting from having no principals and no teachers' appointments since 2013."