Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin accuses BJP of diverting school funds for opposing NEP

India Today

MK Stalin accused the BJP-led Union government of diverting Rs 2,512 crore meant for Tamil Nadu's students to other states for rejecting NEP 2020 and the three-language policy.

Transcript

00:00What is wrong if a student in Tamil Nadu will learn multilingual, come to the multilingual aspect in his studies?

00:13Once again, the language war took centre stage in South India.

00:16This time, it is Tamil Nadu versus Hindi over the implementation of the National Education Policy, or NEP, 2020.

00:23It all began on February 15, 2025.

00:26Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated that Tamil Nadu would not receive samagra shiksha funds without implementing the NEP.

00:34But what is wrong if a student in Tamil Nadu will learn multilingual, come to the multilingual aspect in his studies?

00:42It can be Tamil, it can be English, it can be any other Indian language.

00:47There is no imposition of any Hindi or any language on them.

00:50For the unversed, NEP 2020 is the Modi government's flagship reform.

00:54It aims to modernize education with flexible learning and a focus on regional languages.

00:59The policy introduced a new school structure, skill-based learning and multiple entry-exit options in college.

01:05The Union Minister's remarks triggered a sharp response from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

01:10He accused Dharmendra Pradhan of blackmailing the state.

01:14Stalin also alleged that the centre had diverted Rs 2,512 crore meant for Tamil Nadu school children to other states.

01:36The controversy quickly escalated. The language issue in Tamil Nadu now united political rivals.

01:42Even AIADMK and Joseph Vijayalath TVK stood against the centre's push for the NEP.

02:06Tamil Nadu's resistance to an alleged Hindi imposition is not new.

02:11The state witnessed massive anti-Hindi agitations in 1938 and again in 1965.

02:16The Dravidian movement emerged from this resistance.

02:19It fuelled the rise of both the DMK and AIADMK, shaping Tamil Nadu's linguistic identity.

02:24For decades, their leaders defended the state's two-language policy, which included Tamil and English.

02:29They fiercely opposed any move to impose Hindi.

02:32When the NEP was first introduced in 2020, AIADMK Chief Minister Edapadi K. Palaniswamy rejected its three-language policy.

02:41He called it painful and saddening.

02:43The DMK, after coming to power, decided to counter the NEP with its own plan.

02:48In 2022, the government announced the formation of a state education policy.

02:52It set up a 13-member expert panel led by the retired Delhi High Court Chief Justice D. Murugesan to draft an alternative framework.

03:00The fallout of the Centre vs Tamil Nadu row over NEP could have far-reaching consequences.

03:10Tamil Nadu was not alone in facing fund cuts.

03:13In July 2024, the Centre had withheld Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan funds from the three opposition-ruled states of Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal.

03:21With Tamil Nadu's Assembly elections barely a year away, the DMK was intensifying its attack on the NEP.

03:27The battle over language and education was now deeply intertwined with politics.

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