Balancing Marathi promotion, heritage, and modern facilities, Maharashtra reviews its next education push.

Devendra Fadnavis, the chief minister of Maharashtra, has directed officials to start incorporating drug de-addiction education into the school curriculum. According to Fadnavis on Monday, Maharashtra is maintaining its position as one of the top states in the nation for education and is bolstering its student-centered system by striking a balance between quality, Marathi promotion, historical preservation, and contemporary facilities.

He instructed officials to start the process of integrating drug de-addiction training into the school curriculum while presiding over a review meeting of the School Education Department, according to an official announcement. The chief minister noted the state government has decided to set up anti-drug guidance and counselling committees in schools and launch a "Drug-Free School" campaign.

Fadnavis maintained that following the state's efforts, the Centre has given greater coverage to the history of the 17th-century warrior-king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in NCERT textbooks. Officials informed the meeting that teaching Marathi and conducting examinations in the language has been made compulsory in all schools affiliated with the SSC, CBSE, ICSE and IB boards across the state.

Maharashtra has retained the second position in the national Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for school education, Fadnavis said and stressed the need to implement innovative initiatives across all schools, including PM SHRI schools.
He examined the execution of important programs, such as the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the "Pavitra" teacher recruitment portal, the educational advantages given to 35 lakh pupils under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, and the Aadhaar identification of schoolchildren.

Maharashtra is home to 9.34 percent of the nation's schools, 8.84 percent of its teachers, and 7.69 percent of its students, according to a presentation given at the meeting. The government is implementing several initiatives to improve school education, including the Nipun Maharashtra Mission, Rashtriya Pratham campaign, the "Majhi Shala Sundar Shala" (My School, Beautiful School) initiative, and enrolment drives, officials informed. AI-based platforms are being used to deliver online training to teachers. Additionally being pushed are exposure visits, school adoption, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) collaborations, and the "Super 100" initiative.