Marathi, the official state language and the mother tongue for a majority of students in Maharashtra, has experienced a consistent decline in student performance over the past four years. Similarly, Hindi, the first language for many students in schools across the state, has also shown a downward trend. This decline has raised concerns among educators and policymakers, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to address the issue. According to a Times of India report, Data from the state education board reveals that the pass percentage for Marathi dipped from over 97% in 2022 to 94.1% in 2025. For Hindi, the drop is more pronounced — from 97% to 92.2% in the same period. In stark contrast, English — increasingly seen as the language of opportunity — has maintained a consistent pass rate of over 98%, further highlighting shifting academic and social priorities.
Interestingly, Marathi first language candidates outnumber English and Hindi combined, but the academic outcomes don’t reflect the same dominance. Even core academic subjects like maths and science showed a slight dip in performance, although they continued to maintain a respectable pass rate of over 95%. Social sciences defied the overall trend, maintaining a steady pass percentage of over 97%.Experts attribute the language performance decline to a mix of socio-cultural and systemic factors. One major concern is the decline in reading habits among students, especially in regional languages. “From chatting to social media, everything is in English. There is a zero reading habit among students now,” said one schoolteacher, pointing to the growing cultural and academic dominance of English.
Another key issue is the lack of subject-specific qualified teachers, especially in early schooling. Ajit Tijore, a veteran maths teacher from Shree Narayanrao Acharya Vidyaniketan in Chembur, noted, “In the state, the minimum eligibility to become a teacher is HSC and a two-year DEd. But the syllabus has evolved and is now aligned with NCERT standards. This qualification is not sufficient for teaching even basic concepts in mathematics or science at the Std VIII level.”Tijore further emphasized the importance of early subject exposure by qualified professionals. “If a child in Std II is taught maths by someone who pursued an arts degree to avoid mathematics, that will reflect in the teaching quality. Even if the teacher has a BSc BEd but is a chemistry major, their maths ability may not be up to the mark,” he explained. “Subject expertise must start from primary levels to build student confidence and competence.”