The DMK on Thursday demanded the withdrawal of the new National Education Policy (NEP), saying it was against the Indian Constitution and the interest of the student community.
The party also urged the AIADMK government to adopt a resolution against the NEP 2020 on the ground that it was against the rights of the State government and social justice.
“The government should say that there was no place for three-language policy and the two-language policy proposed by late Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai would continue,” said a resolution adopted at a virtual meeting of DMK district secretaries, MLAs and MPs chaired by party leader M.K. Stalin on Thursday.
The DMK described as “anti-democratic” the approval given by the Union Cabinet to the NEP when all the States were in the grip of COVID-19 pandemic and the Parliament was not in session to allow people’s representatives to discuss it.
The meeting made a strong case for keeping in abeyance the NEP till it was discussed by the Parliament and all State political parties.
The meeting said the NEP was totally against the recommendations advanced by the DMK and it was unacceptable that even kindergarten syllabus would be decided by the Centre. “We reiterate that education, now in the concurrent list, should be shifted to the State list,” a resolution demanded.
The DMK said creation of a higher education authority to control the State universities, entrance examination for arts and science colleges, the permission for foreign universities and evolve State syllabus at the national-level would deny States their rights.
Convene all-party meet
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi president and Chidambaram MP Thol. Thirumavalavan on Thursday urged the State government to reject the NEP. He exhorted Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to call for an all-party meeting to express the State’s opposition to the Centre’s new policy.
In a statement, he said the Centre had announced the policy which took away the autonomy of States and attempted to give a saffron tinge to education, that too at the time of a pandemic. “It must be rejected,” he said.
“This is anti-people and against the principles of democracy,” Mr. Thirumavalavan added. VCK says the policy took away autonomy of States.Expressing his disapproval of the new education policy, the general secretary of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam T.T.V. Dhinakaran felt that the Centre had acted in haste in bringing out the Policy. He wanted the State government to follow those aspects of the NEP which would promote intellectual development of students of the State, leaving out features which would be harmful to the interests of the student community.
‘Bid to saffronise education’
The National Education Policy 2020 is an attempt to saffronise education and will divide the people of the country on the basis of religion, alleged TNCC president K.S. Alagiri on Thursday. In a statement in Chennai, he said it should not be implemented without discussion in Parliament.
Mr. Alagiri claimed the policy was an attempt to communalise education and cause danger to the ideas of secularism. “Despite scholars and educationists opposing the policy, the Centre has not considered them and taken a decision against it,” he said.
Mr. Alagiri said the policy also aimed to force Sanskrit on the people of the country.
The Tamil Nadu government is now facing a situation where it has to decide whether the third language in the State will be Sanskrit or Hindi or some other language. “The Centre is trying to force its ideology of One Nation, One language, One culture through this,” he alleged.
PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday said though the new NEP approved by the Union Cabinet had many good aspects, there are many aspects which are dangerous too.
In a statement, he pointed out the proposal that students in classes 3, 5 and 8 would take school examinations to be conducted by the appropriate authority was not needed.
Similarly, he pointed out the proposal of adopting a three language policy is not acceptable.
Mr. Anbumani urged the government to remove the dangerous aspects in the policy and include proactive measures suggested by the 1964, Kothari Commission.
Vasan, Kamal welcome policy
Meanwhile, Tamil Maanila Congress president G.K. Vasan welcomed the NEP 2020 and said the future generation will benefit from it.
Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Thursday welcomed the new education policy’s proposal that 6% of GDP would be spent on education.
