According to the new syllabus by the state government, 20 marks are devoted for oral examinations. Civic officials said it was therefore important to improve the oral language of civic school students, majority of who come from lower strata of society.

The language laboratories will work on improving four languages: English, Hindi, Marathi and Urdu and will be set on the lines of Pune’s Balchitravani. BMC has already signed an MOU with Balchitravani to help the education department to set up the labs.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Mahadeo Sangle said that the labs will be equipped with audio-visual facilities. “We will play audio cassettes in the respective languages recorded by experts to teach the students. This would help them get their diction right,” Sangle said.

The labs will be mainly for students of secondary schools while those from primary schools will be allowed to attend the class once a week.