- Maharashtra's IT Minister Ashish Shelar assured support to Marathi schools in the US
- He met Maharashtra Mandal officials overseeing Marathi schools in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Bay Area Marathi school has about 300 students and has operated since 2005
Maharashtra's Minister for Information Technology and Cultural Affairs, Adv. Ashish Shelar, has assured official support to Marathi schools operating in the United States, including access to curriculum and examination frameworks.
During a visit to the Bay Area in San Francisco as part of his US tour, Mr Shelar met office-bearers of the Maharashtra Mandal, which oversees Marathi schools in the region. These community-run institutions, led by committed members of the Marathi diaspora, focus on teaching the Marathi language, culture, history and folk traditions to the next generation.
The Bay Area school, operational since 2005, currently educates around 300 students in Marathi.
Across the US, more than 50 Marathi schools are functioning through voluntary efforts by the community. Representatives at the meeting told Mr Shelar that official recognition from the Maharashtra government - including a formal curriculum and examination framework - would streamline teaching, certification and administration.
In response, Mr Shelar pledged to discuss the matter with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and School Education Minister Dada Bhuse. He assured the Mandal that the government would extend full cooperation, including the provision of official curriculum content and recommendation letters to support the schools' functioning.
