Latest news with #Balbharti
Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Maharashtra school edu minister again clarifies Hindi third language proposal on hold
Maharashtra's School Education and Sports Minister Dada Bhuse again clarified on Sunday that the proposal to introduce Hindi as the compulsory third language in the state had been put on hold. Speaking to reporters at the Pune Children's Book Fair in Pune, Bhuse said, 'At this time, the topic of third language has been put on hold. There should be no confusion in anyone's mind because of this. Previously, Hindi was decided to be the third language by a government resolution, a few issues came to light after that… Right now in this educational year, the procedure being followed in the previous years will be followed.' Confusion regarding Hindi being introduced as the third language flared up again as Balbharti, Maharashtra's Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, released a circular on May 20 that included a point – 'All concerned will be informed separately regarding the textbook 'Khel Khel Mein Sikhe Hindi' (for Marathi and English mediums) for Class 1'. Denying that the language would be made compulsory, Bhuse added, 'Because of this (the issues raised), in the coming time, students and parents expect education in which language and from which Class (will be taken into account). Some people said that Hindi should not be introduced from Class 1 but from Class 3. Many such issues came forward, so in the coming time all these issues will be taken into account and the decision will be taken.' An April 16 circular by the state government had declared that Hindi would be mandatory as the third language from Classes 1 to 5. However, strong opposition from political and cultural circles opposed this move. A few days later Bhuse announced after a cabinet meeting that the move was being rolled back and said, 'The word mandatory will be removed… The three-language formula remains, but schools must accommodate other language choices if a significant number of students in a class request it.' Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune. A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read More
Time of India
03-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
‘Majhya Gavcha Dhada' ignites young minds in Sangli ZP schools
Kolhapur: The Sangli Zilla Parishad 's initiative to introduce contents of local importance in history, geography, finance and art textbooks for schoolchildren has not only helped ignite the young minds but also paid rich dividends in their learning process. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The impact has been such that the ZP has now requested Balbharti (Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research) to consider adding blank pages in the textbooks so that locally relevant contents can be added by teachers in different districts of the state. The Sangli Zilla Parishad has implemented ' Majhya Gavcha Dhada ' (Chapter On My Village) concept in its 700 primary schools. In a geography book, teachers included two Maharashtra-specific chapters and assessed the children's understanding. The chapters included information on Lonar crater in Buldhana district, around 500km from Sangli. It was formed after a meteorite fell on Earth. The chapter also included information on the famous waterfall from Siddhewadi village. An internal assessment of five questions showed that all students from Siddhewadi school could answer all the questions related to their local waterfall. But they could answer only a few questions related to the Lonar crater. Sangli ZP chief executive officer Trupti Dhodmise, who had floated the idea a year ago and got all teachers to contribute, collected around 2,263 chapters, including poems, to activity-based descriptions. "During my interactions with ZP schoolstudents, I found that children could not relate to things distant or something that they had not seen or felt. The outcome of the learning was not up to the mark. We then decided to run a small project, through which we made the students know about local things, their village and its history, local banks and famous personalities. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now They could easily understand and relate to the concept. This led to the idea of including relevant local information in textbooks," she said. An example of the impact of this learning came from a chapter written by Vandana Sharad Kadam, a teacher from Kavathe Ekand village in Tasgaon tehsil, on the Quit India Movement of 1942. She included part of a historic march on Sept 3, 1942, that started from Tasgaon to support the movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Kadam said, "The students were thrilled to know the historic importance of the place they live in. They got inspired and wanted to know more about the freedom movement." Similarly, a teacher wrote about a local numismatist. Eventually, the students met the coin collector to know about the hobby. The ZP has prepared a model booklet on such lessons. An editorial board was constituted to guide the teachers in Sangli to prepare a model booklet. The chapters are similar to the lessons in regular textbooks provided by govt. It has an author introduction, to-do activity, questions at the end, maps and pictures wherever required. "We will request Balbharti to print four to five pages at the end of each textbook, where we can introduce chapters on local things written by our teachers," Dhodmise said.
Time of India
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Educationists uneasy over introduction of 3rd language in class 1
Mumbai: The state govt's decision to introduce the three-language formula right from Grade 1 runs contrary to the National Curriculum Framework 's approach: the third language, it says, belongs to the middle stage of schooling. The govt's announcement has perplexed educationists, who question the resources available for teaching languages and the purpose behind the decision. "Who says that Maharashtra has enough Hindi teachers?" asked a former senior education officer. Those who followed the making of the school education policy recalled that only last year, the state had released its draft curriculum framework which promised two languages—Marathi and English—from Grade 1, and a third—be it Hindi, Sanskrit, a regional tongue, or even a foreign one—starting in Grade 6. Public feedback was sought. A press note followed on May 27, 2024, reaffirming the same structure and stages. Under the national framework, language curricular goals for foundational years say, "Children develop effective communication skills for day-to-day interactions in two languages. Children develop fluency in reading and writing in language 1. Children begin to read and write in language 2." There is no mention of a third language in these early years. "This wasn't just policy. It was pedagogy," said Avnita Bir, Principal-Director of R N Podar School, a CBSE institute. "We used to offer two languages in grade 1, but when Maharashtra made Marathi compulsory, we included that too. Now, we're offering three from the start?" Educationists pointed out that before 2000, children began with one language in Grade 1—their medium of instruction. In the early 2000s, a second language was added—English was introduced in all non-English medium schools and Marathi in all non-Marathi medium schools using English, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, etc as medium of instruction. "It was introduced gently and playfully. No exams, no notebooks. Just familiarity. The syllabus was crafted very carefully," said Dhanavanti Hardikar, who headed Balbharti's language section. "For 25 years, this worked. And now, without warning, we're told to bring in a third language at Grade 1," Hardikar added. "This wasn't in the state's curriculum framework. A third language at Grade 1 should not be introduced at all, but if the state is adamant, it has to be through the play-way method, with no written work, no exams, and a huge tolerance towards students' errors." Vasant Kalpande, former state board chairman, said, "Instead of rushing in new languages, we need to focus on making sure what we teach is actually taught well."
