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regular-article-logo Sunday, 10 August 2025

Tamil Nadu defies central NEP, sets education policy rejecting three-language formula

According to the Tamil Nadu State Education Policy for School Education announced on Friday, students of classes I to X in both government and private schools, irrespective of the board of affiliation, will study Tamil and English

Basant Kumar Mohanty Published 10.08.25, 06:40 AM
Representational image

Representational image File picture

Tamil Nadu has become the first state to have its own education policy in response to the Centre’s National Education Policy (NEP), a strategy that some educationists and activists believe could be adopted by Opposition-ruled states to avoid “Hindi imposition”.

Despite conflicts with the Narendra Modi government over withholding of funds under the centrally-sponsored Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the southern state has rejected the three-language formula pushed by the Centre under the NEP and has decided to continue with its bilingual policy of teaching Tamil and English in schools.

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The Karnataka government is set to roll out a similar policy soon.

According to the Tamil Nadu State Education Policy for School Education announced on Friday, students of classes I to X in both government and private schools, irrespective of the board of affiliation, will study Tamil and English.

The Union education ministry has stopped the release of funds to the state under the SSA for resisting the three-language formula and the NEP 2020.

In February, Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin wrote to Modi stating that the two-language policy followed in the state was non-negotiable.

The three-language formula has been part of the country's education policy since 1968. The original policy said the southern states would teach preferably Hindi as the third language, while Hindi-speaking states would teach preferably a southern Indian language as the third language in classes VI to X.

The NEP 2020 allows the states the freedom to decide any Indian language as the third language. However, the central ministers have openly emphasised the importance of learning Hindi, fanning apprehension that the three-language policy was a ploy to impose Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking states.

Linguistics professor Panchanan Mohanty said that though Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the Northeastern states officially follow the three-language formula, Hindi competence among students was very low.

"Tamil Nadu has officially adopted a two-language formula under its education policy. Due to the recent language controversies, other states may be encouraged to follow this two-language policy. In such states, teaching and learning of Hindi is not done seriously in schools, and the students pass out without acquiring the desirable competence in Hindi," Mohanty said.

"In view of the ongoing controversy over the language issue, the government should seriously consider setting up a committee of linguists to discuss the problems and suggest suitable measures. There should also be a ministry of languages to look into the issue besides protecting and promoting the decaying mother tongues," he added.

Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of the State Platform for Common Schooling System — a civil society watchdog on education rights in Tamil Nadu — said the state education policy was bold but had several weaknesses. He said the policy provided for the categorisation of schools, which would engender discrimination.

"Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution. States can have their policy and Tamil Nadu has carved its path despite pressure from the Centre to follow the three-language system.

"However, it creates division among schools. It promotes model schools and schools of excellence. It means students of general schools will not get the same priority as those in model schools and schools of excellence. We appeal to the state government to treat all schools equally," Babu said.

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