In a move that could spark sharp reaction from the Central government, Tamil Nadu on Friday dumped Hindi language in its New Education policy for the state. The new policy unveiled by the state government sticks to its old policy of the 1960s — a two language policy in government schools in Tamil Nadu. The two languages the state focuses on are Tamil and English.
The State NEP is significantly different from the NEP, that the state assembly has resolved to not implement, was released by state Chief Minister MK Stalin in Chennai on Friday. On this occasion the state government has also done away with the board exams for Class XI a concept that was brought in by the previous AIADMK government. The logic of the previous government in making class XI exams mandatory was to ensure that students don’t neglect the portions of class XI.
For the present, the state government withheld the state education policy for higher education, neither did it announce any roadmap for this. The State Education Policy for Schools is based on the recommendations of the Justice D Murugesan Committee.
The state government’s insistence on the two language policy, as opposed to the there language politics, stipulated by the National Education Policy, is yet another step of the state government to assert its supremacy when it came to state administration and subjects that were under its preserve. The state government, and its two language policy, was declared in 1968 and it remains a non-negotiable instrument, said Stalin.
It may be recalled that the central government had even withheld education funds to Tamil Nadu under the Shikha Scheme citing non-compliance with the NEP clause. The matter is still pending in the Supreme Court.
Stalin said the state’s NEP was designed keeping in mind Tamil Nadu’s unique character and is aimed at preparing students for the future with a vision. The policy does not encourage rote learning and instead seeks to make students think and act.
On scrapping the Class XI public examination, Stalin said the government felt class 11 should be treated as a preparatory and transition year. Focus should be on subject enrichment, skill development and academic readiness through competency-based internal assessments.
“This approach will help reduce examination-related stress, encourage deeper subject understanding, and ensure students are better equipped for the Class 12 Board Examination, while promoting a balanced, student friendly evaluation system across the higher secondary stage,” the policy said.
Incidentally, Tamil Nadu posted double digit growth, as per the statistics released by the central government, and has become the leading manufacturing state in the country, in an indication that the economic politics being practiced by the state government were on the right track.
