An agreement has been reached between the State Board of Education and the Brihan Maharashtra Mandal of America to incorporate the Maharashtra state curriculum into the curricula of 80 US schools that teach Marathi. The state education board has never before expanded its curriculum internationally. The goal of the agreement is to preserve and advance Marathi language among the diaspora while fostering a sense of identity and cultural connection. For students in classes 1 through 10, the curriculum and textbooks will be incorporated into the educational framework, and for students in classes 1 through 5, exams for Marathi language certificates will be given.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed by the State Board of Education and the Brihan Maharashtra Mandal of America (BMM) to include the Maharashtra state curriculum into the curricula of 80 schools across the US that teach Marathi. The signing ceremony was held on Saturday in Navi Mumbai as part of the ongoing Vishwa Marathi Samelan, or World Marathi Festival.
According to a BMM representative, “this is the first time the state education board has expanded its curriculum outside of the country.”
A deliberate effort to preserve and spread the Marathi language among the diaspora is shown by the Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed in the presence of Governor Ramesh Bais. The agreement describes how the state government and BMM, a well-known organization that has been promoting collaboration and communication across Marathi organizations in North America for more over 20 years, will work together.
“I am very happy to sign this MoU with the government of Maharashtra for Marathi language learning,” said Sandeep Dixit, president of BMM, Cleveland, Ohio, expressing his happiness. Our goal is to connect the younger generation, who were born and reared in America, to their heritage and the Marathi culture via the teaching of Marathi language.
