The relationship between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre has reached a flashpoint after the education ministry pulled the plug on funds meant for the state under a key scheme over non-implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) and the three-language formula.
After Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the two-language policy followed in the state was non-negotiable and that the state had concerns about the NEP, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday accused him of politicising education.
Tamil Nadu is the second state where funds have been stopped under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) after Bengal for not implementing the PM-SHRI School scheme. Under PM-SHRI, the Centre funds select state government schools to put in place better facilities under the condition that “PM-SHRI” is prefixed to the school’s name.
Last week, Pradhan had alleged that Tamil Nadu was exercising a monopoly by not following the three-language formula. The formula, suggested in the education policy of 1968 and continued in all policy documents, is meant for students of Class VI to X. It provides for the study of a modern Indian language, preferably one of the southern languages, apart from Hindi and English in the Hindi-speaking states, and Hindi — along with the regional language and English — in the non-Hindi-speaking states. Tamil Nadu has been exempted from the policy because of protests. The state follows a two-language (Tamil and English) formula.
In his letter to Modi, Stalin wrote that Pradhan’s comments last week had created anxiety and unrest among students, political parties and the public. Funds to the tune of ₹2,152 crore underthe SSA have not been released for 2024-25 to the state, Stalin wrote.
“The tremendous strides made by our state in the last half a century and its trendsetting initiatives can be traced back to our progressive policy-making, built on this two-language policy and social justice. The above would clearly exemplify that any change in our two-language policy is non-negotiable for our state and our people,” Stalin wrote.