The Maharashtra government has announced that all schools in the state, including private and public institutions, will be required to teach Marathi and conduct marks-based exams for the subject from the academic year 2025–2026. This move, aimed at reinforcing the importance of Marathi language education, was confirmed in a government resolution (GR) issued on September 14, 2024.
The decision to switch to a marks-based evaluation comes after concerns were raised regarding the lack of seriousness in the teaching of Marathi in non-Marathi medium schools. Previously, Marathi was evaluated using a grade-based system in these schools, which many felt led to students engaging less rigorously with the subject. By introducing a marks-based assessment, the government hopes to encourage students to take their Marathi studies more seriously, ensuring better language proficiency and engagement. This shift is the culmination of a plan that dates back to April 2020, when the Maharashtra Education Department issued an order mandating Marathi instruction across all schools.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the implementation during the 2020–2021 academic year, especially in non-state-board schools, where regular exams were often not held. In April 2023, the department temporarily reverted to a grading system for students in the eighth grade of non-state-board schools, allowing these students to continue with the grading system through the ninth grade in 2023–2024 and the tenth grade in 2024–2025. This exception was made in light of the ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic. The new government resolution (GR) issued in September 2024 clarifies that this grading system was only temporary, and the marks-based evaluation will return from the 2025–2026 academic year onward. The first batch to sit for marks-based Marathi exams will be the students entering Class 10 in 2025–2026.
This announcement is part of a broader effort by the Maharashtra government to promote and preserve the Marathi language. Recently, the state declared plans to establish a Marathi Gymkhana in South Mumbai, modelled after other prestigious community clubs such as Islam Gymkhana and Parsi Gymkhana. Additionally, the government has unveiled plans to construct a Marathi Language Department building at Marine Lines. Deepak Kesarkar, Maharashtra’s minister of School Education and Marathi Language, shared this news on September 13, 2024, highlighting the government’s commitment to promoting the cultural and linguistic heritage of Maharashtra.
The return to a marks-based system signals a renewed emphasis on ensuring that students in Maharashtra, regardless of the school or medium of instruction, gain a comprehensive understanding of Marathi. By standardising the assessment method, the government aims to ensure that Marathi language education is given equal importance alongside other subjects in schools. This decision aligns with the government’s long-standing policy of making Marathi a compulsory subject in schools. With the reintroduction of a marks-based evaluation, there is an expectation that students’ proficiency in Marathi will improve, especially in non-Marathi medium schools, where the subject was not previously treated with the same weight as core academic subjects. As Maharashtra moves toward 2025, the state’s education system will undergo significant changes to integrate Marathi more deeply into the curriculum, ensuring that the next generation of students develops a strong foundation in the state’s official language.
