The story so far:
Tamil Nadu is yet to receive this year’s funds from the Union government under the flagship education scheme Samagra Shiksha. According to the State government, the Centre has linked these funds to the complete implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which includes provisions that the State has opposed, including the contentious three-language formula. The impasse has come to a head over the last two weeks, with a public war of words between the Centre and State erupting on X.
What is Samagra Shiksha and why has Tamil Nadu not gotten funds under it?
Samagra Shiksha is an integrated Centrally-sponsored scheme for school education from nursery till Class 12, with components for teacher training and salaries, special education, digital education, school infrastructure, administrative reform, vocational and sports education, with grants for textbooks, uniforms, and libraries, among others. The scheme’s estimated outlay between 2021 and 2026 is ₹2.94 lakh crore, with the Centre and States contributing funds in a 60:40 ratio. For 2024-25, Tamil Nadu’s allocation under the scheme amounts to ₹3,586 crore of which the Central share is ₹2,152 crore, with a first quarterly instalment of ₹573 crore, which has not yet arrived halfway through the financial year.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin accused the Centre of imposing a prerequisite for the fund’s disbursal, namely, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for another Centrally-sponsored education scheme called PM Schools for Rising India (PM Shri). This scheme, being run from 2022-2027, aims to create 14,500 model schools across the country to showcase the implementation of NEP 2020, and has a much smaller project cost of ₹27,360 crore. The Centre has sent at least 10 letters to Tamil Nadu from September 2022, asking the State to sign the MoU, which included an agreement to fully implement the NEP.
In March 2024, the State gave an undertaking that it would do so, with Tamil Nadu Education Minister Anbil Mahesh saying that this was because the PM Shri MoU was being linked to funding for the much larger Samagra Shiksha — the delayed third and fourth instalments from 2023-24, and the full funds for the current year. In July, the State signed a modified MoU, dropping the paragraph on NEP implementation, however, this was unacceptable to the Centre. In his August letter, Mr. Stalin noted that States which had signed the MoU had received the funds, and in a September post on X, accused the Centre of “denying funds to the best-performing States for refusing to bow to the NEP”.
The Union Education department has taken umbrage at this implication. In response to an article by The Hindu, a Ministry spokesperson said it was “misleading” and “incorrect” to suggest any such “quid pro quo”. However, the fact remains that Tamil Nadu has not signed the complete PM Shri MoU and has not received Samagra Shiksha funds.
What is Tamil Nadu’s problem with the NEP 2020?
In a post on X, Mr. Mahesh said the State’s objections “relate to specific elements like the three-language formula and curriculum changes”, and noted that “Tamil Nadu is already implementing many acceptable aspects of NEP through its own initiatives”. He also warned that linking the release of Samagra Shiksha funds to full NEP compliance “infringes upon the State’s constitutional autonomy in education”.
Tamil Nadu’s draft State Education Policy (SEP), submitted in July, clearly indicates that the State wants to stick to the 5+3+2+2 curricular formula, rather than the NEP, which includes the pre-school years. The SEP also proposes five years as the age of entry to Class 1, as against six years in the NEP. The State wants undergraduate college admissions to be based on Class 11 and 12 marks, rather than a common entrance test as proposed by the NEP. The biggest hurdle, however, is the NEP’s three-language formula.
Why does Tamil Nadu oppose the three-language formula?
The NEP 2020 recommends the mother tongue or the local language as the medium of instruction till Class 5 and says that all school students should be taught at least three languages, of which two must be native to India. This three-language formula recommendation has been in every NEP since 1968, and has been implemented in many States by teaching the local language, as well as English and Hindi, with Sanskrit also offered as an option, especially in Hindi-speaking States.
Tamil Nadu has had a long-standing opposition to this formula, dating back to social movements in the pre-Independence era. From a widespread agitation against mandatory Hindi in the 1930s to violent anti-Hindi riots in the late 1960s, to protests against the NEP and Navodaya schools in 1986, there has been a consistent political consensus on the issue.
Instead, the State implements a two-language formula, making it mandatory for all students to study both Tamil and English throughout their school years, and they are free to choose Hindi or any other language as an optional third. “We embrace Tamil as a pillar of our identity while also ensuring future generations are equipped with English proficiency,” Mr. Mahesh said in a recent post on X.
NEP 2020 says that “there will be a greater flexibility in the three-language formula, and no language will be imposed on any State”, indicating that it is not mandatory to include Hindi as one of the three languages. However, this would still allow students to choose Tamil as a third language, to be studied for just a few years in middle school.
All major political parties in Tamil Nadu have rejected this formula on principle. When Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asked whether this “principled” stance against NEP meant that Tamil Nadu was opposing education in the mother tongue including Tamil, Mr. Mahesh responded that the State’s policy has “always prioritised inclusive learning with Tamil as a cornerstone, while empowering students with knowledge in English”.
Published - September 16, 2024 10:44 pm IST
