Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 8 : Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udayanidhi Stalin on Friday lauded the move by his DMK-led government to release the State Education Policy (SEP) amid opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP), demanding that education must be brought back to the State list.
"Education was once in the state list, then changed to the concurrent list. It should be brought back to the state list again," Stalin said while addressing the gathering at the Anna Centenary Library Auditorium.
Targeting the central government, the Deputy CM claimed that efforts were being made to "destroy" education in the state.
"I feel proud today when our CM released the state education policy. This is an educational and knowledge festival today. TN is creating history now. Our Tamils were given education in the Sangam era, but it was denied in the middle. Not only then, but now too, efforts are made to destroy our education," Stalin said.
Recalling Periyar's opposition to the Kula Kalvi scheme (Modified Scheme of Elementary Education), the Deputy CM stated that the centre was attempting to implement the same allegedly controversial scheme that had faced protests under NEP.
"Kuka Kalvi scheme (Modified Scheme of Elementary Education) was opposed by our leader Periyar, and protests were done, and then that scheme was dropped. Now, the Union government is trying to impose the Kuka Kalvi scheme through the NEP. It's our CM who said firmly and boldly that we will not accept NEP and we will have our own SEP," Stalin stated.
He praised CM MK Stalin for taking a firm stand against implementing the NEP and the three-language policy in Tamil Nadu.
"The Union minister said you should implement a new education policy and triple language in our education, or else no funds will be released to the state. But our CM opposed it and stood firm on double language," Udayanidhi added.
This move comes after months of protests against the National Education Policy (NEP) promoted by the Centre. The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has consistently opposed the NEP, calling it "against social justice" and an attempt to impose Hindi on the state. Tamil Nadu has refused to implement the NEP.
In May, the state government filed a plea in the Supreme Court over the alleged withholding of about Rs 2,200 crore in central funds, which it linked to its refusal to adopt the NEP. The plea asks the court to declare that the NEP 2020 and the PM SHRI Schools Scheme are not binding on the state unless it formally agrees to them.
The government argued that its funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme have been unlawfully tied to these central schemes, calling the move "unconstitutional, arbitrary, and illegal".