New Delhi: Amid the ongoing fracas between the Union and Tamil Nadu governments over the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) and the imposition of a three-language policy, the former has informed parliament that “no language will be imposed on any state”.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha in response to a question by Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas, minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar said “there will be a greater flexibility in the three-language formula” and languages learned by students will be the “choices of states, regions and of course the students themselves”.
“The [NEP], 2020, inter-alia, at para 4.13, provides that the three-language formula will continue to be implemented while keeping in mind the constitutional provisions, aspirations of the people, regions and the Union, and the need to promote multilingualism as well as promote national unity. However, there will be a greater flexibility in the three-language formula, and no language will be imposed on any State,” Majumdar said in his reply.
“The three languages learned by children will be the choices of states, regions and of course the students themselves, so long as at least two of the three languages are native to India.”
The minister said that the policy provides for students to have the choice to “study in their mother tongue/local/language”.
“The policy also provides for making available high-quality textbooks in [the] home language/mother tongue and encouraging teachers to use [a] bilingual approach while teaching. In order to achieve this objective, the government is integrating multilingualism at school and higher education levels by providing reading materials in Indian languages so that students have the choice to study in their mother tongue/local/language,” said Majumdar.
This comes amid the ongoing row between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Tamil Nadu government over the implementation of the three-language policy as a part of the NEP.
It has stoked fears that the BJP has a long-term agenda to push Hindi.
The DMK has taken a stiff stance and opposed the implementation of NEP.
New Delhi has alleged that the party is using language for politics and to deny the state’s students a pan-India education model.
