C, C++, AI to be Tamil Nadu's 3rd language, not Hindi, says minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi
Speaking at a 'Rights of State Education' convention organised by the Students Federation of India, the minister said, "The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is not a policy for education, but an RSS-driven agenda.
Tamil Nadu Minister of School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi
CHENNAI: Amid a growing dispute with the Union government over implementing its three-language policy, Tamil Nadu Minister of School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi 'clarified' on Sunday that C, C++, Java and Artificial intelligence (AI) is the State's third language and not Hindi.
Speaking at a 'Rights of State Education' convention organised by the Students Federation of India, the minister said, "The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is not a policy for education, but an RSS-driven agenda. Through NEP, the BJP government is keen on thrusting Hindi and Sanskrit on non-Hindi speaking states, which will eventually erode Tamil.”
The minister pointed out that the central funds TN sought were not to construct political buildings or for personal use but for students’ education. “The withholding of rightful funds meant for TN is affecting over 40 lakh students and 32,000 teachers in the state,” he said.
The minister, however, reiterated what Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu promised in the Tamil Nadu budget for the 2024-25 fiscal — that the State will compensate for the pending funds from the Centre from its resources. Thennarasu had put the "pending rightful funds" at Rs 2,152 crore.
#StopHindiImposition pic.twitter.com/Tz042nO9Uj
— Anbil Mahesh (@Anbil_Mahesh) March 15, 2025
Anbil further quoted the budget allocation by the TN government for the Department of School Education so far at Rs 32,599 crore in 2021-22, Rs 36,895 crore in 2022-23, Rs 40,299 in 2023-24, Rs 40,042 in 2024-25 and the highest amount of Rs 46,767 crore in 2025-26 financial year.
"Since the formation of the Integrated School Education Scheme in 2018, the Union government is bound to release 60 per cent of funds (Rs 2,152 crore) of the Rs 3,533 crore approved by the board to the State for the 2024-25 academic year. However, the Centre has been depriving the TN School Education Department of Rs 2,152 crore under the Samagra Shiksha (SS) scheme. The Centre was instead trying to arm-twist TN to accept the PM-SHRI scheme, which is in line with NEP to get its ‘rightful’ share of funds," he charged.
