– Ronita Torcato 

Children are fond of technology and also learn new languages quickly. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation should introduce foreign languages such as German, Japanese, Mandarin, Italian and others, in its curriculum, Maharashtra governor C. P. Radhakrishnan suggested recently at the School Reopening Festival for the new academic year of the BMC-run school at Worli Sea Face, in Mumbai.

Municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, deputy municipal commissioner (Education) Dr. Prachi Jambhekar, and education officer Rajesh Kankal attended the programme, among others.

It is pertinent to note that the Maharashtra government’s decision earlier this month to make Hindi compulsory from Class 1 to 5 as the third language in Marathi and English medium schools of the Maharashtra State Board, triggered criticism from educators, Marathi literary figures, and opposition political parties, who consider it an imposition of Hindi and an undermining of Marathi.

Following the backlash, the government issued an amended GR, making Hindi the “generally” third language option, while permitting schools to teach other Indian languages if at least 20 students opted for it. However, protests continued unabated with Raj Thackeray’s MNS party urging parents to take to the streets. The Marathi Abhyas Kendra comprising 18 organisations wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging him to maintain a two-language policy instead of implementing the three-language model.

 Speaking on the occasion at the Worli school, governor Radhakrishnan congratulated the BMC for successfully running 1,100 schools that educate 3.5 lakh students, and commended the 93 percent pass rate of students in the 10th standard. A student who scored 97 percent marks was felicitated by the Governor who recommended sending select teachers to Finland to learn from its widely acclaimed education system.

Applauding the BMC’s efforts in providing school kits and nutritious meals, the Governor recommended the inclusion of boiled eggs on the menu for those students whose dietary habits include eggs and suggested that schools should provide facilities for skill development and sports to students.

Since there are few playgrounds in Mumbai, the grounds should be made available to schools on a rotation basis, he said.

It may be mentioned that BMC presented a ₹74427 crore budget for 2025-26, relying on its reserves once again to fund its big-ticket infrastructure projects.For education, the BMC has allocated Rs 3,955.64 crore, marking an increase of roughly Rs 63 crore compared to last year’s revised estimates of Rs 3,321.55 crore.

Additional metropolitan municipal commissioner Dr. Amit Saini said that the BMC’s education budget will cover the education of students in eight mediums including Kannada, Tamil, Marathi, Hindi, and Urdu. BMC schools are affiliated to Boards like CBSE, ICSE, and IB along with the State Examination Board.

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