Two years after the Maharashtra government signed an agreement with the German state of Baden-Württemberg to provide skilled manpower, around 7,500 candidates selected for the programme’s initial phase are still waiting for information about when their German language classes will begin.
The state school education department had planned to train 10,000 youngsters in the German language as part of the agreement. The programme was expected to open up job opportunities for Maharashtrians in sectors such as healthcare, hospitality, construction, engineering, and other skilled areas in Germany.
As per the plan, shortlisted candidates with the required skills were to be trained in German by the state government. After that, the government was supposed to facilitate jobs for these candidates in Germany. However, candidates said that despite completing the document verification process in September 2024, they have not received clear information about the next stage of the programme.
More than 25 candidates recently came together and wrote to several MLAs and MLCs, requesting them to raise the matter with the state government. In their letter, the candidates said the government had promised to start German language classes in every district, but there had been no progress.
Mahesh Sakate, one of the candidates, said, “It was repeatedly stated that the official German language classes would start as soon as possible. However, even after six months, no one has clear information about the start date of this programme.”
Sakate said many candidates had contacted state education minister Dada Bhuse, MLAs and MPs, but had not received a clear response. “This delay is affecting the academic and career planning of many students. We request the government to expedite the process and provide necessary instructions to the students,” he said.
The state government had allocated around ₹77 crore for the initial phase of the project. However, a major portion of the funds remained unused and was returned to the government, according to officials and candidates. The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) is the nodal agency for implementing the project.
In July 2025, the then-SCERT director, Rahul Rekhawar, visited Germany for a study tour organised by the country’s Federal Foreign Office. The visit focused on German-language training and the recruitment of skilled workers and aimed to understand the systems used to prepare candidates for migration.
The project was announced as part of a larger plan to create employment opportunities for around 400,000 youths. In 2024, the state planned to establish around 200 classrooms for German-language training. The government had also planned to work with the non-profit Goethe Institut for German-language training.
In 2025, after an HT report highlighted candidates’ concerns, the state government appointed former school education minister Deepak Kesarkar as coordinator for the project. He played a key role in the MoU and implementation of the scheme.
Kesarkar said it had been decided that a company would be formed to implement the scheme and facilitate the process of sending students to Germany. “The company formation process is yet to start from the government side. I recently spoke to the secretary, and he assured me that the process will start soon. Once the company is formed, we will be able to proceed further,” he said.
A senior SCERT official said the department was working on the project and that an announcement would be made soon. However, candidates are now demanding a clear timeline, saying they have already waited for nearly two years for the promised opportunity.
