Chennai, June 18:
While expressing its strong opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 which envisaged imposition of three-langauge formula, the Tamil Nadu Government would continue to stick to the long followed two-language policy, and urged the Centre to declare Tamil as the pleading language in the Madras High Court and its Bench in Madurai, besides establishing a Supreme Court Bench in Chennai, Governor R V Arlekar announced in the State Assembly on Thursday.
Delivering his maiden customary address to the House on the first day of the first session of the new TVK government headed by Chief Minister Vijay, the Governor recalled that in 1968, when C N Annadurai, (affectionately called as Perarignar Anna) was the Chief Minister, a resolution was passed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly that “the three-language formula must be removed and only two languages, Tamil and English, should be taught”.
From then until now, the two-language policy has been adopted in Tamil Nadu.
This Government will continue to follow this policy since the two-language policy is one that the people of the state have accepted.
While retierating the Government’s strong opposition to the NEP- 2020, the Governor said the Union Government’s stand that the amount of Rs.3,458 crore due to Tamil Nadu under the ‘Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan’ will be released only if the three-language formula under the NEP is implemented, is unacceptable.
This is tantamount to imposing the three-language formula on Tamil Nadu.
Arlekar said the ruling TVK will urge the Union Government to reconsider its stand linking the implementation of three-language formula with the allocation of funds and to immediately release the funds due to the state.
Observing that issues such as NEET examination, imposition of the NEP and three-language formula have arisen consequent to education being in concurrent list of the Constitution, the Government said the TVK government will undertake all necessary efforts to move education from the Concurrent List to the State List.