Maharashtra Revokes Three-Language Policy Mandate for Primary Schools

New Delhi, 22nd July 2025: In a significant development in the education sector, the Government of Maharashtra has officially revoked its earlier resolutions mandating the implementation of the Three-Language Policy from Class 1 in State Board schools. The Ministry of Education confirmed this in response to the question raised in the Lok Sabha by Matheswaran V S.
According to Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State for Education, the Maharashtra government had initially issued a Government Resolution (G.R.) on April 16, 2025, and a corrigendum on June 17, 2025, to implement the policy. However, these were subsequently withdrawn through a new G.R. dated June 30, 2025.

The revoked policy had introduced Hindi as the third language to be taught from the primary level. The decision to withdraw comes amid ongoing national discussions surrounding language policy and the flexibility accorded to states under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The NEP 2020 emphasizes the continued implementation of the three-language formula but underscores that no language will be imposed on any state. It allows states, regions, and students themselves to choose the three languages, provided that at least two of them are native to India. Moreover, the policy allows for language changes in Grades 6 or 7, as long as students demonstrate basic proficiency in three languages—including one Indian language at the literature level—by the end of secondary school.

As outlined in the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023, students are expected to achieve independent reading and writing proficiency in three languages by the end of high school. These include:

R1: The first language (ideally the mother tongue or state language), with literacy proficiency by age 8.
R2: A second language different from R1, with proficiency expected by age 11.
R3: A third language distinct from both R1 and R2, with proficiency targeted by age 14.

Since education falls under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, the implementation of the Three-Language Policy is ultimately at the discretion of individual States and Union Territories, in alignment with the NEP’s framework.