Will never allow Centre's 3-language policy in Tamil Nadu: CM on NEP

Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Monday that he is saddened by the three-language formula adopted by the central government in the recently-announced National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

“We are saddened by the three-language formula introduced by the central government in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Our state is already following two-language policy (of Tamil and English) for decades and there will be no changes in it,” Palaniswami said after chairing a cabinet meeting in Chennai.

“I request Prime Minister to pay heed to the unanimous demand of the people of Tamil Nadu to reconsider the three language policy and allow states to make a decision as per their own policy,” he further said.

Palaniswami’s statement comes in the backdrop of opposition to the NEP in Tamil Nadu on the grounds that the policy allegedly imposes Hindi and Sanskrit.

The MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and many Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have opposed the new education policy and want a review of the sweeping reforms it has proposed.

Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had said on Sunday that the Centre will not impose any language on any state through NEP. Nishank posted the clarification through a tweet in Tamil while replying to former Union minister from Tamil Nadu Pon Radhakrishnan.

“I once again like to insist that the Central government will not impose any language on any state,” Nishank said.

On Saturday, the DMK chief said the policy was an attempt at alleged imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit and vowed to fight against it by joining hands with like-minded political parties and chief ministers of other states.

Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy has also termed the NEP as “chaotic” and said it has several unanswered questions. He claimed that the policy has no specific and clear direction on promoting employment and has also not clarified whether the financial responsibility to implement it would fall on the state governments.

“What is relevant for northern States cannot be taken as suitable for the southern states,” Narayanasamy said.

Charging the Centre with seeking to “impose” Sanskrit through NEP, he also said it was fomenting ‘confusion’.