ABP Southern Rising Summit:Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh spoke decisively on the role of language in schooling and the state’s distinctive approach to education reform, arguing that students should be free to choose their medium of study while the government focuses on what is pedagogically necessary.
Tamil Nadu’s Opposition Against National Education Policy
Addressing ABP Southern Rising Summit, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh said, “Language is not a measure of intelligence. Our students can study whatever they want; we never place restrictions. But when it comes to education, we believe that whatever is necessary is enough. We are not against any language. We welcome all languages. Every language has its own pride. But we oppose it only when it is imposed.”
Mahesh used the platform to explain why Tamil Nadu has pursued its own State Education Policy and to outline how the state will treat the central government’s National Education Policy (NEP). He stressed that the state will examine the NEP pragmatically rather than reject it out of hand.
He said: “It is because we face challenges in the education sector that Tamil Nadu is the only state in India to implement its own State Education Policy. When the Union government introduces a new National Education Policy, we will not blindly reject it. If there are good elements in it, and if it benefits students, we are ready to accept it. But certain aspects in it are regressive. We want to analyse everything carefully. That is why we held a consultation meeting regarding reforming the future education framework. From ISRO Chairman Narayanan to cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, many participated and shared their views.”
State-led policy and cautious NEP engagement
Mahesh framed Tamil Nadu’s separate policy as a response to state-specific educational challenges. He said the government will scrutinise the NEP to extract elements that benefit learners, while resisting provisions deemed backward-looking or unsuitable for local conditions.
“We have already launched the ‘Tamil Nadu School Programme for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Knowledge of Online.’ We are gradually following a programme that focuses on the competencies of slow learners. While we are doing all this, please do not tie chains to our students’ feet and stop them from running ahead. We want to do much more for them. We are already thinking about where these student treasures will stand in the next ten years,” said Anbil Mahesh.
