There is no question of imposing any language on any state or community, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asserted on Friday but urged not to view the National Educational Policy (NEP) with a myopic view and spin progressive reforms as a threat to sustain political narratives.

Amid the escalating row between Tamil Nadu and the Union Government over imposition of the three-language policy, seen as a ploy to impose Hindi, the Minister had earlier reiterated that the pending arrears of Rs 2152 crore to the state under the SSA programme would not be released until it accepted the NEP and implemented the three-language policy. 

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“I humbly appeal not to politicise education and rise above political differences,” he said in a detailed rejoinder to Chief Minister MK Stalin’s missive to the Prime Minister, seeking his intervention, to get the funds released immediately taking into account the interest of students.

Maintaining that the NEP was designed in such a way to be flexible to allow states to customise its implementation so as to suit their educational needs, he said in a three-page letter, “Le me unequivocally state that there is no question of imposing any language on any state or community. NEP 2020 upholds the principle of linguistic freedom and ensures that students continue to learn in the language of their choice. 

“In fact, one of the core objectives of the policy is to revive and strengthen the teaching of Indian languages, including Tamil, which have been gradually sidelined in formal education over the decades.”

The three-language policy has been the backbone of the country’s educational framework since 1968, Pradhan said but bemoaned its non-implementation in letter and spirit leading to the systematic decline of the teaching of Indian languages in schools. 

“Over time, this has resulted in over-reliance on foreign languages, and limited students’ exposure to their linguistic roots. The NEP 2020, seeks to correct this historical oversight by ensuring that every Indian language, including Tamil, receives its rightful place in education,” read the rejoinder, adding that a central pillar of the NEP is its unwavering respect to the country’s rich linguistic heritage.

Tamil, he said is not just a regional entity but a national treasure and that Prime Minister Modi was fully committed to popularise the eternal Tamil culture and language globally. 

As such, the CM’s letter to the PM was a complete negation of the spirit of cooperative federalism and Tamil Nadu’s continued opposition to the NEP for political reasons deprives students, teachers and educational institutions in the state of the immense opportunities and resources that this policy offers. 

“The SSA and other centrally-sponsored programmes are aligned with NEP and the PM SHRI schools have been conceptualised to be NEP exemplar schools,” the rebuttal read.

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