Gujarat Assembly passes bill making Gujarati compulsory in all schools

A bill to ensure the teaching and learning of Gujarati as one of the languages in all schools in Gujarat has been passed in the Assembly on Tuesday, failing which the school would be liable to pay penalty upto two lakh rupees and even cancellation of its affiliation.
The Gujarat Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Gujarati Language Bill, 2023 has been passed with a majority in the Gujarat Assembly on Tuesday which will make teaching and learning Gujarati compulsory in schools from standards 1 to 8 across the state. The bill will be implemented in a phased manner from the academic year 2023-24.
There has been made a provision of penalty for the schools which contravenes the provisions of the act for a month for the first time and shall be liable to pay a penalty of rupees fifty thousand.
Similarly, if the school contravenes the provisions of the act for a month for the second time, then it shall be liable for a penalty of 1 lakh rupees and if contravening it for the third time and thereafter, the school shall be liable for a penalty of rupees 2 lakh. The bill also has a provision to cancel the affiliation of the school if the school contravenes the provision of the act beyond a period of one year. On the other hand, the bill has an exemption which stated “In case of students with domicile outside Gujarat, who are studying in the state may be granted an exemption by the concerned school on the written request of student’s parent with valid reasons.”
As per the bill, an officer will be appointed, not below the rank of Deputy Director in the office of the Directorate of primary education, to be the competent authority to implement this policy decision.
Education Minister Kuber Dindor stated that the law applies to the schools which are affiliated with the Gujarat Board.
Congress leader Arjun Modhvadiya said,” we have all supported the bill with the full majority to make the Gujarati language compulsory.
Along with supporting the bill, we have also demanded that a provision should also be made so that the NRI Gujarati also learn to read and write Gujarati, stated the Congress leader