Gujarat Assembly passes bill making Gujarati mandatory in primary schools across state
The bill, introduced by state Education Minister Kuberbhai Dindor, was passed unanimously by the 182-member House, with support from both the opposition parties, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party.
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FollowThe Gujarat Assembly unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday, February 28, that makes Gujarati language instruction mandatory in all primary schools in the state, including those affiliated with the CBSE, ICSE, and IB boards.
Suppose a school is found to violate the provisions of the 'Gujarat Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Gujarati Language Bill, 2023' for more than a year. In that case, the government will 'direct the Board or institution' to disaffiliate the school.
The bill, introduced by state Education Minister Kuberbhai Dindor, was passed unanimously by the 182-member House, with support from both the opposition parties, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party.
Following the billing document, schools that do not currently teach Gujarati will be required to do so in phases beginning with the upcoming academic year 2023-24.
"To teach Gujarati as an additional language, all schools must use the Gujarat government's textbooks. To carry out the provisions of this bill, the state government will appoint a deputy director-level officer of the Education Department as the competent authority," said Dindor.
A school will be fined Rs 50,000 if it violates the rules for the first time. According to the billing document, the fine will be Rs 1 lakh for the first offence and Rs 2 lakh for any consecutive offences.
"If a school continues to violate this act for more than one year, the state government may direct the Board or institution to disaffiliate the school to which such a school is affiliated," per the bill's provisions. The penalty will only be imposed if the school involved provides an explanation.
Though the Congress supported the bill, its members slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party government, claiming that it 'woke up' only after a PIL was filed in the high court recently for the proper implementation of the state government's 2018 notification, which asked all primary schools to introduce Gujarati as a mandatory subject in primary schools from class 1 to class 8.
"Before this bill, the state administration in 2018 issued the same notice with the same purpose. Therefore, I urge the state government to ensure this bill does not suffer the same fate as that notification. We hope you will strictly enforce the act. Furthermore, the state government should consider increasing the penalty amount," said Congress MLA Amit Chavda.
He also urged the state government to make Gujarati mandatory in secondary and higher secondary schools.
An NGO filed the Public Interest Litigation in October, asking the Gujarat High Court to direct the state government to 'ensure the Government Resolution of 2018 is implemented in its true letter and spirit to introduce Gujarati as one of the mandatory subjects in primary schools from standard 1 to 8.'
The petitioner claimed that, despite a state policy, primary schools, particularly those affiliated with the CBSE, ICSE, and IB boards, did not include Gujarati as a subject in the curriculum.
In December, the HC ruled that schools affiliated with other boards, such as CBSE and ICSE, could not refuse to implement a state government policy. The HC also said that if the government 'feels helpless' to compel schools, it will issue necessary directions.
(With inputs from PTI)
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