Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Thursday attacked state minister Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) amid the raging debate over the three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. In a long social media post, Annamalai said that PTR stated that his sons were educated under the dual language policy.
He even said that PTR's brother PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan did not mention what those two languages were since none of these languages were Indian. The post came after PTR responded to Annamalai's questions on the 3-language formula debate at a press conference yesterday.
"He has said that his two sons were educated under the dual language policy. However, his brother Mr. PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan forgot to tell him which two languages they were. The two languages his sons learned, First language: English; Second language: French/Spanish. Is this your bilingual policy?" the Tamil Nadu BJP chief said.
Tamil Nadu Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Wednesday criticised the Centre's three-language policy as a 'failure' model, questioning its replacement of the state's 'successful' two-language system.
He remarked, "will anyone with wisdom accept a failure model?" He argued that the issue would not arise if English were properly taught in northern states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The Minister asserted that the Centre has "no authority or right to impose any language." His comments come amid tensions between the state and Centre over the National Education Policy, which Chief Minister MK Stalin labelled a "destructive Nagpur plan."
"Is this your bilingual policy? Whitening (sic)." Flagging the DMK's double standards on the issue, Annamalai said that through the policy, students in government schools get to learn a third Indian language along with Tamil and English.
"We are asking for a national education policy that will provide our government school students with the opportunity to learn a third Indian language, along with Tamil and English, or a foreign language at the higher levels. Why all this drama to stop that?"
Under the NEP 2020, students at the secondary level can also learn foreign languages like Korean, Japanese, French, German, and Spanish in addition to Indian languages and English.
Tensions between the state and the Centre have resurfaced due to the Tamil Nadu government's refusal to implement the three-language formula in NEP 2020. Due to this, the Centre has withheld funds worth ₹573 crore in the education assistance under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
Tamil Nadu, however, has rejected the three-language formula for a long time, viewing it as an attempt in the direction of Hindi imposition. As per SSA rules, the states must comply with NEP guidelines to receive the funding, of which 60 per cent in provided by the Centre.