Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday unveiled the new education policy of the state as an alternative to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, as he reiterated his commitment to follow the bilingual policy of Tamil and English.
Addressing a gathering at Anna Shatabdi Library Auditorium in Chennai, Stalin accused the Center of trying to “impose” Hindi on the southern state through NEP. He said, “Mother tongue Tamil is our identity, our pride. The bilingual policy of Tamil and English will be our firm stand. And I confirm it,” he said.
He said: “We want to provide the necessary energy for future life. We want to make students who are technically brain, creative, prepared and well equipped for future … We are going to bring change in education, our aim is to educate everyone. Nobody should be left.”
The new policy comes months after the war of words between the Center on the Tamil Nadu government and the NEP, which makes the three-language formula mandatory.
Tamil Nadu, who has two languages, has opposed NEP with concerns over the possible imposition of Hindi or Sanskrit under a three -language policy.
Earlier this year, Stalin and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attacked the implementation of the NEP in the state, the earlier money was kept back as blackmail. Stalin then said that the central government was sowing the seeds of another language war and Tamil Nadu was ready for it.
In May, the state transferred the Supreme Court, alleging that the central government was worth the fund. 2,151 crores, under the Samagra Shikha Scheme (SSS), a central-proposed scheme, alleging that this was done to “force” and “force” the state to implement the NEP.
Language has long been an emotional issue for the state that was shaken by the anti -Hindi movement in the 1960s. Pradhan called the three -language formula in the past “backbone of India’s education structure since 1968”.
Speaking at Friday’s program, Tamil Nadu Education Minister Ambil Mahesh said that the state NEP is not “ready to implement the three -language policy”. “The Chief Minister has said that we will follow the policy of two languages,” he said.
Under the new SEP, the state will also not implement the NEP recommendation of public examinations for students in classes 3, 5 and 8. “(Under NEP) If they do not pass, a month’s time is given (to re -reveal). That we are not here because the RTE Act, Class 1 to 8, under all passes,” he said.
The SEP was drafted by a committee established by the state government and submitted a report in 2024 by Justice D. Murugson, a retired High Court Judge.
According to the new policy, there will be no public examination for class 11 from the current academic year. Niti required Tamil to be taught compulsorily up to class 10. It also encourages sports-based learning in pre-primary classes, banned parallel coaching centers and suggests reforms in teacher recruitment with focus on classroom education.
Former Telangana Governor and BJP leader Tamilisai Soundarajan slammed the state government to release the SEP with the intention of opposing NEP. “#SEP is not a state education policy. This is DMK’s political state egoistic policy that is designed from @ARIVALYAM … It is a document of partition, not development,” he claimed in a post on X. “NEP was introduced with nationwide counseling. Sep The sep introduced isolation. Sep is only working politically.
