Opposition to NEP politically motivated, not imposing Hindi in TN: Edu minister

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that he respects all languages and there is no imposition of Hindi English or any other language in Tamil Nadu

Published on: Feb 17, 2025, 18:49:16 IST

By Sanjay Maurya

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New Delhi: Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday dismissed Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin’s opposition to the three-language formula, which makes it mandatory for every school student to study at least three languages under National Education Policy (NEP), saying that “they are not accepting the idea because of their political interest”. Pradhan said that he respects all languages and there is no imposition of Hindi English or any other language in Tamil Nadu.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. (File Photo)

“We all accept NEP, but they are not accepting the idea because of their political interest. I know education is in concurrent list but to create competition among students, to create a level-playing field, we have to come to a common platform. NEP is the new aspirational common platform. I respect all languages. This NEP, envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is giving emphasis to the mother tongue,” Pradhan told the media on the sidelines of the 126th Foundation Day of Delhi University’s Hindu College.

Pradhan said that the central government is organising Kashi Tamil Sangamam (KTS) to encourage Tamil civilisation, culture and language. The third edition of KTS began in Varanasi on Saturday intending to strengthen the centuries-old connection between Tamil Nadu and Kashi.

“Tamil is one of the oldest languages of our civilisation. But what is wrong if a student in Tamil Nadu will learn multilingual aspect in study? It can be Tamil, English and other Indian languages. There is no imposition of Hindi or any other language on them. Some friends in Tamil Nadu are doing politics. But the government of India is committed to implementing NEP and there are certain conditions with NEP,” he added.

His comments come a day after Stalin slammed Pradhan over his alleged remarks made during KTS in Varanasi that the southern state will not be provided funds under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme until it accepts NEP and adopts the three-language formula making Hindi compulsory.

Stalin on Sunday in a post on X said, “Tamils will not tolerate the rash blackmail that no funds will be provided until we accept the three-language policy.”

The NEP allows states, regions, and students to choose three languages, provided at least two are native Indian languages. However, Tamil Nadu follows a two-language system with Tamil and English. Regional parties in Tamil Nadu have been opposing the three-language formula raising concerns over the possible imposition of Hindi or Sanskrit under the three-language policy.

Tamil Nadu was allocated ₹2,151.60 crore under SSA – a shared scheme between the Centre and states supporting public schools with a funding ratio of 60:40 but it did not receive any funds from the central government till January 31, 2025, in the financial year 2024-25, minister of state for education, Jayant Chaudhary had told Lok Sabha on February 10.

Tamil Nadu has also not accepted the central government’s PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme launched in September 2022.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Maurya
Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.Read More

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