New Delhi, June 3: Amid massive outcry over Hindi being made a compulsory language in all non-Hindi speaking states, the HRD ministry has climbed down and tweaked the draft National Education Policy to say that students are free to choose any language they wish to study in.
The revised draft policy states, “In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages….”
There is no mention of Hindi in the “Flexibility in the three-language formula” clause. The revised policy requires proficiency in any three languages.
The earlier draft education policy triggered outrage in southern states, led by Tamil Nadu, which said they will not tolerate Hindi imposition in the state that doesn’t speak the language.
In the previous version of the draft policy, English and Hindi were proposed as mandatory languages in non-Hindi speaking states while a third language was mandatory in Hindi-speaking states.
This did not go down well with the southern states that do not speak Hindi. Tamil Nadu led protests over the “Hindi imposition” by Centre. This forced the Centre to say that it is only a draft policy and Hindi will not be imposed in any state.
The recommendations relating to teaching of Hindi drew sharp reactions from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and actor Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam.
Earlier on Monday, DMK in Tamil Nadu passed a resolution against the Centre’s policy and said that the NDA government should not test its patience.
Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah too hit out at the Union government and said imposing Hindi on other states is a “brutal assault”.
Former HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, who is now minister for information and broadcasting in the second Modi government, on Saturday said a committee had prepared a draft report on the education policy and that no decision has been taken on implementing it.
