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Pradhan targets DMK over NEP, says Tamil enrolment falling in TN schools

Replying to a debate on the discussion on the working of the Education Ministry, Pradhan cited the example of Tamil Nadu and said that the NEP in fact promotes initial teaching in Tamil.

Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajya Sabha, Tamil enrolment falling, Education Ministry, Tamil Nadu schools, Indian express news, current affairs

Responding to allegations of a dip in budget allocation for education, he said that it had in fact increased by 6.22% this year.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in Rajya Sabha Tuesday that the Centre was not imposing Hindi but promoting multilingualism with its New Education Policy.

Replying to a debate on the discussion on the working of the Education Ministry, Pradhan cited the example of Tamil Nadu and said that the NEP in fact promotes initial teaching in Tamil. He said that data from Tamil Nadu shows that more students were moving to English medium education in government schools.

He said 67% of students were now in English medium schools, while Tamil medium enrolment dropped from 54% (2018-19) to 36% (2023-24). He added that at least 774 CBSE schools in the state were teaching Hindi as a third language. He said that youngsters from Tamil Nadu should not be denied the opportunity to grow and that he is ready to face any personal attacks from the DMK government.

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“I am proud of the Tamil language,” he said, “What is your opposition to NEP? It is advocating that the medium of instruction till Class 5 should be Tamil language. We are promoting Sengol and that is our understanding of the Tamil language.”

“Dr Kasturirangan formulated the NEP 2020 on the basis of extensive consultation. And, what was the recommendation? It said that if a child is taught in the language that they first hear and speak, then their critical thinking will increase and their innovation capacity will increase…. Nowhere does it say that it (the third language) is Hindi or Sanskrit…. In NEP, none of the languages has been imposed on anybody,” said Pradhan.

He said that nominated member Sudha Murthy knows Kannada, English, Sanskrit, Hindi, Odia, Marathi, and Telugu, but no one imposed any language on her. Pradhan also said that Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu had said that his state would promote not just three but as many languages as possible, including global languages.

Responding to Opposition members alleging that the Centre was not paying its dues under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Pradhan took a dig at CM Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government saying that the state had previously “misused” the funds under the Abhiyan.

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Several Opposition members had raised the issue of alleged non-payment of Centre’s share to West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala for not signing the MoU for setting up PM SHRI schools.

On the changes in the NCERT textbooks, Pradhan said, “One of the members … said that the NCERT has erased some of India’s mass movements. Yes, we have erased (it). Should we consider those who have picked up weapons, who do not accept democracy, the Naxals as a mass movement? No. So we have removed it.”

Responding to allegations of a dip in budget allocation for education, he said that it had in fact increased by 6.22% this year. He outlined the government’s policy of early childhood education through anganwadis and Bal Vatikas. He also mentioned Atal tinkering labs, which he said, will eventually boost the country’s start-up ecosystem. The Union minister said that seats in IITs have been increased and more support was being provided through the PM Research Fellowship.

The minister said that the loophole of “not found suitable candidate” to take away the rights of SC/ST/OBC persons has been happening for years. It was under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi in 2019 that the House was informed that it would not work. When it comes to recruitment of teachers, he said that in Kendriya Vidyalayas, there were 19,059 recruitments between 2004 and 2014 as compared to 33,952 recruitment between 2014-24. With PTI inputs

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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