Shed political reservations, join PM SHRI: TN BJP president Annamalai

CHENNAI: State BJP president K Annamalai on Friday exhorted the state government to shed its political reservations and join the Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme.

Lambasting the Stalin-led government, Annamalai said that the TN government's reluctance to participate in the PM SHRI, citing flimsy excuses, was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to politicise education.

"The State government's admission that the central government has not imposed Hindi as the third language is a welcome revelation. However, the TN government's lack of initiative in appointing teachers for other Indian languages is disheartening," he said in a social media post, claiming that the State government has admitted its inability to arrange sufficient teachers to teach languages other than Hindi.

The former IPS officer also proposed a pragmatic solution, suggesting that the State government conduct a survey among government school students across the State to determine which languages they wished to learn.

"Subsequently, the government could initiate the process of appointing teachers to instruct the respective languages," he argued. Annamalai also urged the State government to explore opportunities for youth from the State who possess a degree in Tamil and aspire to become teachers and facilitate their employment as teachers in the border districts of neighboring states.

He further added, "By joining PM SHRI scheme, the State government can provide its students with access to improved educational facilities, a conducive learning environment, and quality teaching that fosters cognitive development."