The Puducherry unit of the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO) has urged the Union government to circulate the draft National Education Policy (NEP) after incorporating views and suggestions of academicians, teachers, students and all other stakeholders.
In a letter to the Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal last week, AIPSO Puducherry unit president K. Lakshminarayanan and general secretary R.S. Zivanandam said the response given by all stakeholders to the National Education Policy should be circulated once again for wider consultations.
In its response to the draft, the organisation said the primary aim should be to establish a fully State-funded public school system with mother tongue as medium of education up to primary level and facilities to teach English in an efficient manner at higher levels of schooling.
Students should be given the option of studying additional languages without any compulsion, the letter said.
The concept of unitary form of education in a country with such diversity would have its own impact.
‘Dilute States’ powers’
It would dilute the power of States to evolve policies and legislations in the school education system. Slowly, the move would result in putting education from the concurrent list to the central list, the letter said.
The need of the hour was to strengthen the Integrated Child Development Services with jurisdictional monopoly and strengthening of its foundation through proper funding by the Centre.
It should separate be a separate entity functioning under the Department of Women and Child Development in each State, the signatories said.
There was no need to impose a third language on children. The two-language formula, with compulsory mother tongue was sufficient enough to develop a child.
There was also “no need to give prominence to Sanskrit or to any other Indian or foreign language,” the letter said.
