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TN rejects BJP’s claim that state is following NEP by introducing AI in schools
The M K Stalin-led government has opposed the NEP and the process of formulating a State Education Policy by a committee is in its final stages
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday rebutted the state BJP on the matter of the introduction of the subject of artificial intelligence (AI) in schools. The ruling DMK government said that their AI policy was framed in 2020 before the National Education Policy (NEP) was formulated that same year.
Last week, on January 11 the state government extended the implementation of the Technology Education and Learning Support (TEALS) programme which includes studying AI, robotics to more than 38,000 students studying in classes 6 to 9 in 100 government schools. Last July, the school education department signed an MoU with American giant Microsoft to implement TEALS initially in 14 schools.
On Saturday, BJP’s Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai posted on X that the ruling DMK government is following the footsteps of CBSE’s decision to introduce AI for Class VI to VIII as per the recommendations of NEP 2020 and that Uttar Pradesh had introduced it last September. “Happy to note that the TN State Govt is in the process of implementing the NEP2020 introduced by our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi avl & we are certainly hopeful that the TN State govt will soon consider implementing the 3 language policy with education in the Mother tongue compulsory as mandated in NEP2020,” Annamalai said.
The M K Stalin-led government has opposed the NEP and the process of formulating a State Education Policy by a committee is in its final stages. The state has repeatedly said that they will never allow the three-language policy prescribed under the NEP and will continue with its two-language policy which is English and Tamil. “Mr Annamalai’s daydreams of a trilingual policy in Tamil Nadu will never stand a chance,” the state government said in a statement on Sunday. “The two-language policy will continue.”
The TEALS program will train students and teachers in AI for the first time in India, the state said. “Annamalai should not try to distort history. The Tamil Nadu government completely rejects his claim,” the statement continued and added the state’s progress in the information technology sector brought about by DMK patriarch and former chief minister M Karunanidhi since the 1970s. Like how Karunanidhi introduced a policy information technology sector, the current government introduced a policy for AI in 2020 continuing the trend, the state said. “The Tamil Nadu government has not accepted the NEP. We have already achieved many of the goals stated in the NEP,” the statement said. “It is ridiculous to say that Tamil Nadu is working according to the NEP when everyone knows that we are a pioneer in the file of technology compared to any other state in the country.”
