Activists and academicians came together on Monday to raise a pitch for implementing the Tamil Learning Act, 2006, under which Tamil is a compulsory language under Part I for schools following the Samacheer Kalvi syllabus.
A matriculation schools association on Friday filed a writ petition against the provision and a letter of the Director of Matriculation Schools to implement the Act.
P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu, State general secretary, State Platform for Common Schooling System, argued that the Tamil was introduced as a compulsory subject in class I in 2006-07 and that batch is set to appear for their board examination in 2015-16. “It has been gradual and not sudden and the department issued letters to schools asking them to implement the Act,” he said, adding that the circular was only in continuation to that.
Madras University former vice-chancellor Porko said that the Act came into being after a lot of struggle. “The Act is not against students learning in their mother tongue,” he said. Mr. Prince said that the Act makes provision for students to study their mother tongue. “Under Part IV, students have the option of learning another language,” he said. S. Muthukumaran, former vice-chancellor of Bharathidasan University, said that it was imperative that students in Tamil Nadu learn Tamil.
S. Senthilnathan, vice-president, Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association, and S. Arumainathan, State president, Tamil Nadu Students Parents Welfare Association, and other members were among those present.
