India, April 18 -- The state government is ramping up enforcement of its mandate making Marathi compulsory across all school boards, warning of penalties ranging from a fine of Rs.1 lakh to derecognition, according to guidelines issued on Friday.

The government resolution (GR) underlined that Marathi has been a mandatory subject from Classes 1 to 10 in schools across the state since the 2020-21 academic year. This was mandated with the enactment of the Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language Act, 2020.

The state education department has prescribed a 13-point protocol for action against schools violating the law. It was drafted after legislators across parties had complained during the recent budget session that ...