Maharashtra’s three-language policy continues to be delayed as the committee has been granted an extension of another month. The committee, headed by former planning commission member Dr Narendra Jadhav, will now have to submit the report by February 4, 2026, which was earlier expected by January 4, 2026, after the first one-month extension they were granted in December, Maharashtra school education minister Dada Bhuse said on Thursday.
Bhuse was addressing the media at a press conference announcing plans for Republic Day in schools when he was asked about the status of the three-language policy. “The committee is given an extension of one more month,” he said.
A Government Resolution (GR) was subsequently issued in this regard indicating that the extension was granted following a request for the same submitted by the Committee, which requires more time for deliberation and analysis. The GR also claims that the committee received great response through online platforms as well as through in-person sessions held in different parts of the state.
Although the first deadline for the committee was December 4, it was extended by a month through a GR issued on December 15, which stated that the scope of work carried out by the committee was being considered, particularly the gathering of public opinion that required members to travel to various parts of the state to conduct stakeholder meetings. Under this extension, the committee was expected to submit a report on January 4 this year. But according to the latest GR, the committee wrote to the government on January 2 seeking an extension of another month.
Maharashtra’s three language policy for school education is pending from June 2025, when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that a committee would be formed in this regard which will be headed by Dr Jadhav. This announcement came in response to widespread criticism of the state’s decision to impose Hindi as a third language in Marathi and English medium schools under the Maharashtra State Board. Even when the announcement was made in June, the eight-member expert committee was ultimately not constituted until September and was given three months to submit recommendations.
The committee later stated that it will gather public opinion from across Maharashtra to finalize the recommendations. Accordingly, a dedicated website was launched for people to submit their views, while the committee traveled to different parts of the state to meet stakeholders including teachers, parents, academic institutions, language activists and also political leaders to gauge public opinion on the three-language policy.
self defense training
Female students in Maharashtra government schools will be trained in self-defence, state school education minister Dada Bhuse said on Thursday. “We will start with self-defence training for selected girls and teachers. They will be trained by experts with the aim of becoming trainers at their individual school level. This first phase of training will start in February. And from the next academic year, they will start self-defence training for all girl students,” said Bhuse. He also said there are plans to start military training in schools with the help of former soldiers’ associations. The idea, he said, is to instill discipline among the school’s students.