The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) has reported a strong overall performance in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations conducted in February 2026, with the state recording a pass percentage of 92.09%. Yet beneath the broader success, the performance in Marathi has emerged as a significant point of concern.
According to board data, more than 94,000 students failed in Marathi across categories, despite the subject being compulsory in the state curriculum. Of the students who opted for Marathi as their first language, 80,803 did not clear the examination. Another 13,741 students failed Marathi when taken as a second or third language.
The figures stand out sharply against Maharashtra’s overall SSC performance. Out of over 16 lakh students who appeared for the examination, more than 14.2 lakh passed. However, Marathi recorded a pass percentage of 92.57%, lower than several other language subjects including Sanskrit, Arabic, and Gujarati. Sanskrit recorded a pass percentage of 99.21%, while Arabic stood at 99.59%. Gujarati reported a near-perfect result.
The results have renewed debate over the state of Marathi language learning in schools, particularly in urban and semi-urban regions where English-medium education has expanded rapidly over the past decade. Educationists have increasingly pointed to declining reading habits, reduced use of Marathi in everyday communication, and a growing preference among parents for English-language instruction.
The discussion gains further significance in the context of the Maharashtra government’s recent move to make Marathi compulsory up to Class 12 across all schools in the state, including CBSE, ICSE, and other non-state board institutions. The policy was positioned as an effort to strengthen linguistic and cultural continuity, but the latest SSC data has triggered questions about whether schools are adequately equipped to teach the language effectively.
Teachers and language experts have also noted that many students now approach Marathi primarily as an examination subject rather than as a language used regularly outside classrooms. In several English-medium schools, exposure to Marathi literature and conversational usage remains limited, especially among first-generation urban learners.
The SSC examination results also revealed regional disparities, with Konkan division once again recording the highest pass percentage in the state, while some urban regions reported comparatively weaker language outcomes.
Education observers say the Marathi results raise broader questions beyond examination performance alone. They point toward changing linguistic patterns in Maharashtra’s cities, where English increasingly dominates education, employment, and social mobility, even as Marathi remains central to the state’s cultural and political identity.