Won't Accept Education Policy Even If Centre Offers Rs 10,000 Crore: MK Stalin

MK Stalin has said he is firm on his stance of not implementing the National Education Policy in Tamil Nadu even if the Centre offered to provide Rs 10,000 crore in funds to the state.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has said the opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) is not merely over the "imposition of Hindi" but there are several other factors that would have serious consequences on the future of students and the social justice system.

Addressing a Parent-Teachers Association event in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore, Mr Stalin said, "We are not opposed to any language but will remain firm in opposing its imposition. We are not opposing the NEP only for the attempt to thrust Hindi but for several other reasons as well. The NEP is regressive. It will drive students away from schools."

Read more: Tamil Nadu Linguistic Minorities Forum Urges MK Stalin To Implement NEP Amid Row

Apart from 'denying' financial aid to SC/ST and BC students, which is now being provided, the NEP proposed public exams for third, fifth, and eighth standards, besides introducing a common entrance test for admissions to arts and science colleges, the Chief Minister claimed.

The row over the implementation of the policy in Tamil Nadu and the three-language formula in NEP has escalated and Mr Stalin had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, complaining that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had threatened to withhold Rs 2,000 crore for a centrally sponsored initiative, the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, unless Tamil Nadu implemented the NEP.

Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan seeks to integrate vocational education with general academic education by linking it to the NEP.

"The Centre says Tamil Nadu will get Rs 2,000 crore if the state implements the NEP. I wish to say that we will not agree to the NEP even if the Centre offers Rs 10,000 crore. I will not allow the NEP and commit the sin of pushing Tamil Nadu backwards by 2,000 years," Mr Stalin said today.

Mr Stalin earlier said "The policy was brought to nurture Hindi and not education. It's camouflaged in the name of education policy as it would be opposed if done directly"

What Education Minister Said

Speaking to NDTV, Mr Pradhan responded sharply to Mr Stalin's claims and criticism over the policy and said the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister is creating a "false narrative" of Hindi imposition, which is politically motivated. The minister insisted that Tamil Nadu had agreed to the implementation of the National Education Policy earlier, but made a U-turn on the issue for political reasons.

Under the three-language formula which is part of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, every school student has to study at least three languages. The Centre has said this clause is necessary as previous education policies neglected the systematic teaching of Indian languages leading to an "over-reliance" on foreign languages and it aims to restore languages like Tamil to their "rightful place in education".

The back-and-forth between the Centre and Tamil Nadu government continued and Mr Pradhan wrote a letter to Mr Stalin explaining the policy. He said, "The three-language formula is a pattern of the country. Almost all states have been implementing it since the mid-1960s. I know the position of Tamil Nadu. I know there are some issues, they adopted a two-language formula. The NEP, envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, has emphasized the three-language formula."

"When you talk about the three-language formula, unnecessarily a political line has been taken and they are talking about the imposition of Hindi in Tamil Nadu. Nowhere in the NEP have we suggested that there will be an imposition of any particular language in any particular state. I have also written to the honourable chief minister of Tamil Nadu about this," he explained.

Mr Pradhan said it was okay that Tamil Nadu chose to teach in Tamil and English, but asked what would happen to students living in the border areas of the state who wanted to learn Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi or Odia for employment purposes.

Fund Cut Claims

On Mr Stalin's claims that over Rs 2,000 crore had been withheld from Tamil Nadu for the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan - which seeks to integrate vocational education with general academic education - by linking it to the NEP, which the chief minister called "blackmail and coercion", Mr Pradhan said the use of such "derogatory words is condemnable in a democracy".

"He is speaking a politically motivated language... They have created a fear psychosis that the Union government is going to impose Hindi. Who is going to impose Hindi? I am an Odia-speaking person. Even in my state, a three-language formula has been implemented. The same is true for Punjab and West Bengal. Nowhere is Hindi being imposed as a third language. So, you (Mr Stalin and the DMK) have a political motivation," he said.

The minister pointed out that the PM-Poshan (mid-day meal) scheme had not been stopped in Tamil Nadu and alleged that the state government, due to its "rigid stand", was depriving students of another Rs 2,000 crore under the PM SHRI scheme.

(With inputs from PTI)