Teaching Marathi will be made compulsory for Class I to VIII in IGCSE and IB schools in Maharashtra and the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji will be included in the central syllabus taught in these schools, Education Minister Vinod Tawde said during the question house in the Assembly on Friday.

Replying to a question from Congress MLAs Yashomati Thakur, Amin Patel, and Aslam Shaikh regarding the government’s policy on nursery admission process, Mr Tawde said though ICSE, CBSE, IGCSE and IB schools taught central curriculum, Marathi students were enrolled in these schools.

“Maharashtra’s history in the syllabus in these schools is limited to only four lines and there is no mention of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Therefore, the students in these schools should be taught about Maharashtra’s history,” Mr Tawde said. He said these schools should obtain NoC from the State Education Department every three years and, henceforth, teaching Marathi and including Maharashtra’s history, including the history of the Maratha king, would be a precondition while granting NoC.