'Don’t politicise education', Union minister Pradhan appeals to CM Stalin
State urged to align itself with global standards in education;
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
CHENNAI: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday took offence to CM Stalin's letter to PM Modi, seeking to release Samagra Shiksha funds due to Tamil Nadu without linking it to the National Education Policy, and said it is highly inappropriate for a state to perceive NEP 2020 through a politically charged and myopic lens.
Accusing CM Stalin of "spinning progressive reforms into threats to sustain political narratives at the expense of students' future", Pradhan, in a letter to Stalin, urged him to rise above political differences and think about the interests of young learners who will benefit from it.
In his letter, Stalin had said that linking the two centrally sponsored initiatives — Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and PM SHRI Schools — with the NEP was fundamentally unacceptable.
Pradhan said, "The letter sent to the PM is a complete negation of the spirit of cooperative federalism promoted by the Modi government."
Affirming his respect for the Tamil culture, and the Centre's unwavering commitment to promoting the Tamil language and its rich cultural heritage on a global scale, he emphasised that NEP 2020 is not just a policy reform, but a transformative vision aimed at aligning India's education system with global standards.
"The policy upholds the principle of linguistic freedom, ensuring students can continue to learn in the language of their choice and access to quality education in their mother tongue," he noted.
On Tamil Nadu's opposition to the three-language formula, Pradhan clarified that the policy does not advocate the imposition of any language. "Despite its inclusion in previous policies, the three-language policy was never implemented effectively, leading to the decline of systematic language teaching in schools. NEP 2020 seeks to correct this historical oversight by ensuring that Indian languages, including Tamil, are given their rightful place in education," he explained.
Requesting the state government to reconsider its stance, Pradhan emphasized that many non-BJP states have already embraced NEP's progressive reforms, regardless of political affiliation.