Bring Education under State List: CM Stalin to Centre

CHENNAI: Slamming the BJP for its refrain about the Emergency era of 1975 to 1977, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday asked if the saffron party-led regime at the Centre is ready to bring the subject of education into the State List, as it was brought under the Concurrent List of the Constitution during that period.

CM Stalin was in Tiruvallur to launch the expansion of the breakfast scheme for government primary school children to state-aided private schools in rural regions of Tamil Nadu.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said, the BJP-led Centre has been harping on the Emergency period in Parliament and asked, “The question we are asking them is whether the Union government is ready to immediately shift (the subject of) education to the State List (of the Constitution), which was brought under the Concurrent List during the Emergency. Will they do this constructive task?”

“As far as we are concerned, NEET and the New Education Policy (NEP) are unnecessary and we are opposing these,” he added. CM Stalin said that the stand of his government was that nothing, be it hunger, NEET or Centre’s NEP, should be an obstacle for Tamil Nadu’s students to pursue education.

“Whatever may be the barriers, breaking barriers is our first task...we will break the barriers; let students focus their attention on education.”

The scheme was introduced to provide nutritious breakfast to primary class students in government schools in 2022. However, seeing overall positive impact, the government has extended the scheme after the announcement was made during the budget session.

Speaking to DT Next, a government schoolteacher said, “As the mid-day meal was lauded as a noble one, similarly, the breakfast scheme has been well-received among people. The parents, who are migrant workers and daily-wagers are in no situation to prepare breakfast for the children, hence, for them, the scheme has proved beneficial.”