Marathi School Closures Sparks Anger; Protest on Dec 18

Citizens from across Maharashtra will hold a protest march on Thursday, December 18, calling for the protection of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)-run Marathi schools. The march, organised by the Marathi Abhyas Kendra, will begin at Hutatma Smarak and proceed to the BMC headquarters at 11 am.

The organisation said it has repeatedly sought discussions with BMC administrator Bhushan Gagrani over the alleged deliberate closure of Marathi schools but has received no response. “We have made sustained efforts to initiate dialogue with the BMC, but there has been no reply. We will continue to protest until Mr Gagrani agrees to hold discussions,” said Dr Deepak Pawar, president of the Marathi Abhyas Kendra, at a conference on Marathi schools on Sunday.

More than 250 citizens from across the state attended the conference, held at a packed Rajarshi Shahu Auditorium in Dadar on Sunday morning. Teachers, RTI activists, social workers, representatives of teachers’ associations and civil society members took part in discussions on various issues related to the closure of Marathi schools.

Senior activist Sudhir Hegishte of the Forum for Justice, RTI activist Pranali Raut of the Aam Aadmi Party, Anganwadi worker and union leader Sangeeta Kamble, Deepak Doke, Utpal V.B., F.M. Ilyas, Jalindar Sarode, Shivram Darade, Dr Yogesh Bhalero, Vijay More and actor Chinmayee Sumit were among the speakers at the conference. They raised concerns over what they described as the deliberate closure of Marathi schools.

The speakers alleged multiple instances of administrative misconduct, including the declaration of school buildings as “unsafe” to justify demolition, failure to respond to citizens’ Right to Information queries, and the forced merger of schools. Issues such as student displacement, rising dropout rates, poor infrastructure and an alleged nexus between builders and the civic administration were also discussed.

Deepak Doke of the Save B.D. Bhalekar School Committee highlighted the proposed demolition of B.D. Bhalekar High School in Nashik, a well-known Marathi school. He said the decision was taken without consultation with stakeholders. “We were told the school was unsafe and would be demolished for 2026 Kumbh Mela logistics, with a new school to be built later,” said Doke, adding that thousands of former students had opposed the move through protests and dialogue with the authorities.

In his presidential address, Dr Deepak Pawar alleged that a “business model” has emerged in Maharashtra in which land belonging to Marathi schools is acquired cheaply from the government and later handed over to private builders for malls and high-rise developments. He claimed similar patterns could be seen across the state.

Keshav Waghmare, a Pune-based social activist working in the education sector, said government schools in the city are often located on prime land. “From local corporators to industrialists, everyone is eyeing these plots. Once a school is demolished and the land is vacant, the administration identifies legal loopholes and leases it out for commercial use for 99 years. The poor, who lack the resources, time and knowledge to question this, are systematically deprived of education,” Waghmare told Outlook.

With local body elections due in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Varun Sardesai raised the issue of BMC-run Marathi schools in the state Assembly during the winter session, though without citing data compiled by the Marathi Abhyas Kendra. Angered activists have appealed to Sardesai and other political parties that draw on Marathi identity for electoral support to take to the streets and join Thursday’s protest march.

Key Demands Raised by Marathi Abhyas Kendra

Among the key demands raised were that if a school is demolished for redevelopment, the new school building must be constructed on the same site. Activists also called for structural audit reports of all government-run Marathi schools to be made publicly available in Marathi.

They further demanded that schools should not be adopted, transferred or have their medium of instruction changed by managements, and that government schools should not be handed over to private entities under any circumstances. The group also said the government must ensure that land allotted at subsidised rates in the name of Marathi schools is used exclusively for constructing and running Marathi schools.