There are apprehensions among academics that several thousands of deserving rural students are being deprived of the opportunity of availing themselves of the benefit of quality school education due to the delay on the part of the State Government to permit Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti to start Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV).
Notwithstanding the assurance by the Samiti that Hindi will not be made a compulsory subject, there has been no positive response from the government as yet. The scheme, if implemented, will be a boon for rural students, N. Alagendi, Principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya - II, HAPP Township, said.
Under the scheme, the State Government was expected to provide 30 acres of land free of cost in each district, and the Samiti would start full-fledged state-of-art schools at an investment of ₹20 crore in every district.
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According to an official of education department, Tamil Nadu has been following two-language formula. While Tamil was compulsory, English was the second language.
Students whose mother tongue was not Tamil were permitted to study a third language in the CBSE schools managed by private trusts in Tamil Nadu.
“The system is going to be the same in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas as well. The fear of Hindi imposition is misplaced”, S. Manikandan, a former member of Parent Teacher Council, of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Karaikal district of Puducherry Union Territory, said.
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In fact, the medium of instruction is in the regional language - Tamil from levels VI to VIII.
From level X onwards, the students are equipped well to follow the instruction in English.
The State has missed a lot since the education was being provided free of cost for rural students from economically poor background.
The Samiti designs the entrance test in such a way that talented children from rural areas could compete without facing any drawbacks. Seventy-five percent seats have been reserved for rural children and a minimum of 33 % admission for girls. Students belonging to SC/ST woudl get 15 % and 7 % seats respectively, teachers of JNV explained.
The students gain holistic development in these schools. Particularly, the student exchange programme conducted for Standard IX students, gives them an opportunity to study for a year at a JNV in another linguistic region.
This enables them to learn about the language and culture of a different region, academics said, urging the State Government to take a call in order to clear the decks for starting a JNV in every district from the next academic year.