The Maharashtra government has announced that Hindi will be made a compulsory third language subject for students from Classes 1 to 5 studying in Marathi and English medium schools.

The three-language formula has been brought for these classes in Maharashtra as a part of the new curriculum implementation under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

As part of the language policy, Hindi will be introduced as a mandatory third language for early-grade students in 2025-26 academic year and expanding to all grades by 2028-29. To support this transition, the state government also plans to train 80% of teachers in new pedagogical methods and digital tools by 2025.

The Government Resolution (GR) declared in this regard clarifies that other medium schools in Maharashtra are already following three-language formula since English and Marathi are compulsory in the state; and they also teach the language which is their medium of instruction. Whereas in English and Marathi medium schools, only two languages were taught.

“This marks a crucial shift in early education,” said an education department official. “The intention is to build multilingual competency early on.”

The three-language formula in NEP 2020 recommends that students learn three languages, at least two of which must be native Indian languages. This formula applies to both government and private schools, giving states the flexibility to choose languages without any imposition.

While the Centre maintains that this policy is meant to ensure that youth get employment across regions, Tamil Nadu's DMK leaders and MK Stalin call it an attempt to impose Hindi on the state. The Centre has denied charges that the three-language formula imposes Hindi on the state.

It remains the only state that has never implemented the three language formula, choosing English over Indian languages, including Hindi and other regional languages.

Tamil Nadu's refusal to implement key aspects of NEP 2020, particularly the three- language formula, has resulted in the Centre withholding Rs 573 crore in central education assistance under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). According to policy rules, states must comply with NEP guidelines to receive SSA funding, of which 60 per cent is provided by the Centre to states like Tamil Nadu.