The Gujarat government on Wednesday announced that it will move a bill in the upcoming Assembly session making teaching the Gujarati language a compulsory subject in schools across the state. The move will make teaching the Gujarati language from classes 1 to 8 in all schools functioning in the state mandatory.
Government spokesperson and cabinet minister Rushikesh Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar that the bill will be introduced in the assembly on February 28. He said that in 2018, the government had passed a resolution for teaching the Gujarati language as a subject to all schools. "The new bill will be applicable to all schools whether affiliated to international or CBSE boards," Patel added.
The government's decision comes in wake of the Gujarat high court commenting on how the state government planned to preserve the Gujarati language as its mother tongue unless it was taught in the schools. The court's remarks had come while dealing with a public interest litigation, filed by The PIL filed by Matrubhasha Abhiyan through advocate Archit P Jani, seeking direction to all schools to teach the Gujarati language as a mandatory subject at the primary education level.
The court had observed that the government's attempt to ensure the Gujarati language is taught was "toothless" since there was no legal provision for making it mandatory. The state had submitted that out of 47 schools, in about 13 schools, there was no compulsory teaching of the Gujarati language as per the policy of the state. The state had assured the court that "there shall be a regulatory mechanism to ensure the policy of the state to be effectively implemented."
On Wednesday, the division bench led by chief justice Sonia Gokani disposed of the PIL stating that since the government has assured implementation of its resolution, nothing further remains to be done.