Parents Express Concern After Maharashtra Education Minister Dada Bhuse Announces CBSE Pattern For All Govt Schools

Maharashtra Education Minister Dada Bhuse announced on Thursday that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) pattern will be implemented in government schools across the state from the academic year 2025-26. This has raised concerns among parents and students in Pune. Many parents claim that there’s no clarity over the implementation and that the children are mentally not prepared for such a transition. They fear that the transition could lead to several difficulties for students, especially those entering crucial academic years.

Jaishree Deshpande, President, Parents Association, Pune Region, said, “The state has directed to implement CBSE pattern in all government schools but there’s no clarity about the implementation, syllabus and language preferences. The students and the parents are perplexed by this decision. If they will introduce CBSE, what languages will be taught to students? The bigger question is how will they implement it as we all know and surveys show that the teaching quality at government schools is quite questionable, so how are they going to make government teachers adapt to the new changes? The language will be a barrier. Also, they have directed this for even schools in rural parts, without making proper plans. CBSE is a central body and they do not listen to government schools. Will they make centres and headquarters in every region? What about the existing state board infrastructure? What will they do with it? There are so many issues that have yet not been cleared and answered. They have asked the schools to start with the CBSE pattern but they haven’t asked students and parents for their no choice. It’s like forcing your wards to study in CBSE. The choice should be given to parents and students to decide which board they want to opt for.”

Dilip Singh Vishwakarma, President, Maharashtra State Parents’ Association, said, “This is a welcome move, but I feel this is just a political stunt and nothing is concrete. There’s no planning about the implementation and the government’s intentions are not clear. Common people can’t afford CBSE schools as the fees are high. ‘One nation, one board’ can’t be implemented in a country like India where there is so much diversity. Parents want their children to understand, read and write in the regional language and by changing the boards, they fear that their wards will find it difficult to manage and it will lead to overburdening students. Also, the parents are reluctant as they are not aware of the books, subjects and lessons taught to them. In the state board they study Maratha history in depth but are not sure what will be the syllabus after implementing the CBSE pattern.”

Kumbhar Rajendra, a parent of a student studying in Class 6th, said, “Firstly, this is being proposed and no GR has been passed in this regard. But this is very ironic and it’s a political stunt because at one point the government said the Marathi language is their pride and they will protect it and it has been given priority as well, but by implementing CBSE they will just close down all Marathi language schools and turn them into English medium. The government said that the decision was taken so that the students could acquire quality knowledge which will help them to grow and develop fast. This CBSE pattern will not be effective in rural areas. It is going to be a difficult path for teachers, students and parents. So the government should do something to enhance quality education rather than making it a political agenda.”