Maharashtra government appoints members to Narendra Jadhav-led three-language policy committee

Mumbai: State govt on Friday appointed members to the three-language policy committee, to be chaired by economist-educationist Narendra Jadhav. The members named are Sadanand More, former chairman of Language Advisory Committee; Vaman Kendre, National School of Drama director; educationists Aparna Morris and Madhushree Savji; Sonali Kulkarni, head of linguistics at Deccan College; and child psychiatrist Bhushan Shukla. Senior bureaucrat Sanjay Yadav will serve as the committee's member secretary.The panel was set up on June 29, following the scrapping of two GRs that had made it compulsory for schools in the state to teach a third language from Class 1. The committee is expected to draft recommendations and submit its report to the state govt in three months. Reacting to the appointment announcement, Deepak Pawar of the School Education Research and Action Committee said, "All those who opposed the decision to impose Hindi as a third language have not been given representation. Our opposition will remain irrespective of the committee's report." Mahendra Ganpule, former vice-president of Maharashtra School Principals' Association, said he hoped the committee would consult a wider section of civil society. "They must engage with academicians, teachers and children across the state and not confine themselves to Mumbai," he added.