New Delhi [India], March 12: Amid growing debate over the three-language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP), Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra has called for a constructive dialogue and consultation between the Centre and the states to address concerns and find common ground.
Speaking on the matter, Patra emphasized that education is a sensitive issue and should not be used as a political tool. “Instead of engaging in political rhetoric, it’s important to have a consultation and dialogue between the Education Ministry and those states with concerns. Political representatives from these states and the central government need to come together and find common ground,” he said.
The issue has sparked widespread reactions, with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin firmly rejecting the NEP and condemning remarks made by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Parliament. At a government welfare assistance distribution ceremony in Chengalpattu, Stalin criticized the NEP, calling it detrimental to students’ education. “Rather than helping students pursue education, this policy seems to aim at depriving them of it. It would privatize education, make higher education only accessible to the rich, and mix education with religion. Additionally, introducing public exams for young children and imposing NEET-like entrance exams for arts, science, and engineering students will give the Union government more control over education,” Stalin stated.
Meanwhile, in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hit back at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party’s opposition to the NEP’s three-language policy, accusing the Tamil Nadu government of creating a “political mess” and denying children their “right to learn.” Sitharaman, speaking in the Lok Sabha, clarified that the NEP encourages students to learn in their mother tongue until class 5, and ideally until class 8 or even intermediate level. “But the DMK is imagining this as an imposition of Hindi,” she remarked, defending the policy.
The controversy surrounding the NEP reached a peak on Monday, when Pradhan’s remarks in the Lok Sabha about the Tamil Nadu government’s stance on the policy led to an uproar. DMK MPs disrupted the proceedings, and the minister’s comments were expunged from the record. The remarks prompted widespread protests across Tamil Nadu, with DMK supporters taking to the streets in condemnation.
Earlier, in the Rajya Sabha, Union Education Minister Pradhan criticized the opposition for accusing the central government of attempting to divide society over language issues, asserting that the Modi-led government would never “sin” by using language as a tool for division.