With the implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 starting this academic year, school students in Maharashtra will receive completely new textbooks. Sources say Balbharati has finished printing over 58 lakh books on different subjects. The Maharashtra State Board syllabus is undergoing major changes to align with the CBSE-style curriculum, as recommended by the NEP 2020. These changes will be introduced in phases—beginning with Class 1 in the 2025-26 academic year and gradually covering all classes by 2028-29. The education department believes that aligning the state curriculum with CBSE standards may help improve the overall quality of education.
According to a detailed government notification, Hindi will be made a compulsory third language for students from Classes 1 to 5 studying in Marathi and English medium schools.
Despite the state’s shift towards the CBSE pattern, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) will continue to function, and the SSC (Secondary School Certificate) and HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate) examinations will still be conducted.
The intention is to increase the love for Marathi.
Marathi has been made compulsory in all schools under the trilingual formula. However, in Maharashtra, many Class 1 students from Gujarati, Sindhi, Telugu, Tamil, and Urdu-speaking backgrounds may find it challenging to understand Marathi. To help them, Balbharati has started printing special Marathi textbooks using simpler language.
The aim behind these changes is to foster a love for the Marathi language among students. This year, textbooks for Class 1 will not include notebook pages—an experiment tried by the school education department last year. All regular textbooks for Classes 1 to 8 will be made available before the academic year begins.
For Class 1, a special teacher’s handbook is being prepared in place of the earlier textbook Khelu-Karu-Shiku. Additionally, a Hindi textbook titled Khel Khel Me Sikhe Hindi will be introduced for Class 1 students in Marathi and English medium schools. For students in non-Marathi medium schools, a Marathi textbook called Majet Shikuya will be introduced. These textbooks are designed to make learning enjoyable, visually engaging, and to enhance reading and comprehension skills.
Balbharati has already completed printing and distributing the Class 1 books at the taluka level. Printing is also in progress for simplified Marathi textbooks meant for students whose mother tongue is not Marathi.
The curriculum for classes 2 to 12 will also change.
Starting from the academic year 2025–26, the curriculum and textbooks for Class 1 have been updated as per the guidelines of the new National Education Policy (NEP). In the following year, 2026–27, new textbooks will be introduced for Classes 2, 3, 4, and 6. In 2027–28, textbooks for Classes 5, 7, 9, and 11 will be revised, and in 2028–29, curriculum changes will be implemented for the key classes of 8, 10, and 12.
Schools across Maharashtra will reopen on June 16. Before that, training for teachers handling Class 1 will be completed by June 15. The training will span three days, with sessions of either one hour or 90 minutes each, depending on the subject.
Additionally, under the NEP, teaching at Anganwadis will also follow the new guidelines. To support this change, Anganwadi workers will undergo training lasting between six months to one year.
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