Chennai, September 21 (IANS) Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday called upon the Government of Tamil Nadu to keep politics away from the implementation of three language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP).
He said that the initiative of the Center, including funding support, is to improve student welfare and educational opportunities, and should not be changed in terms of political disputes.
Addressing reporters in IIT-Madras, Union Minister Pradhan said that the issue of funding of education has been raised repeatedly by the state.
He said, “I have talked about this for the last two years and clarified it in Parliament as well. The whole country has accepted the NEP. The Center allocates sufficient funds to Tamil Nadu every year for education, including mid-day meal schemes and other programs,” he said.
The minister said that Tamil Nadu Education Minister Ambil Mahesh Poymoji and DMK MP Kanimozhi contacted him during the release of money.
He said, “I clearly stated that the state should agree to the Center’s structure, before the Samagra Shikha is issued. These funds are only for the welfare of the students and cannot be subject to political bargaining. The two sides should work with mutual respect,” he said.
The Union Minister criticized the DMK government for opposing the policy of three languages, stating that students should not be denied wide learning opportunities due to political decisions.
“What is wrong in learning three languages? In Tamil Nadu schools, languages like Telugu, Urdu and Malayalam are already taught. NEP should simply learn its mother tongue along with two other languages of choice. The Center is not putting a special language on anyone.”
He gave Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s suggestion also mentioned that students should learn up to ten languages, stating that multi -languageism enhances knowledge and possibilities.
In an IIT-Madras program, the minister also shared his desire to learn Tamil, calling it a vibrant and historical language.
He said, “From Kashi to Tenkasi, people share common cultural roots. To learn many languages, first of all, you should gain proficiency in the mother tongue. There are 30 million students in India, yet leave about 30 percent after class 12. We need fundamental reforms in school education to address this challenge.”
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Aal/svn