CM releases TN State Education Policy for School Education

The Tamil Nadu State Education Policy (SEP) for SchoCentralation has been released  by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.
A committee was formed in 2022 to formulate the state education policy. The committee, headed by retired Justice Murugesan, submitted its report last year. Tamil Nadu has now become the only Indian state to have decided to formally draft and implement its own SEP instead of directly adopting the Central government's National Education Policy. The policy, which has been developed as an alternative to the National Education Policy (NEP), which is facing strong opposition, comes in a context of continuing conflicts between the state government and the Central government over education and funding.
Tamil Nadu has been continuously opposing the National Education Policy.  In particular, the DMK government has been strongly opposing the three-language scheme, common entrance exams, and primary public exams. It has described these as anti-social justice and attempts to impose Hindi.
 Subsequently, the State Education Policy Report prepared by a committee headed by retired High Court judge T. Murugesan to formulate the Tamil Nadu Education Policy was submitted to the government last year. Reliable sources say that the policy will focus on science education, artificial intelligence (AI), and strong English language skills, and will ensure access to quality education for all.
 In particular, it has been reported that the committee has recommended that all types of entrance exams for arts and science colleges be abolished and admission to undergraduate courses should be conducted on the basis of 11th and 12th class marks. This is a direct opposition to the single entrance exam system of the National Education Policy.
Furthermore, increasing investments in government educational institutions and tightening regulations for de facto universities are likely to be key features of this policy.  This will ensure quality and equity in education. The central government has withheld Rs 2,152 crore under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan scheme after Tamil Nadu refused to accept the National Education Policy.
The Tamil Nadu government has alleged that this is a violation of the Constitutional rights of the states as education is a public list. The Stalin-led government is strongly opposed to the recommendations of the National Education Policy, such as conducting public examinations for classes 3, 5, and 8, and conducting public entrance examinations for undergraduate courses.
 The government argues that such policies will increase inequality, cause dropout, affect marginalized students, and commercialize education. The committee has also recommended that the government make serious efforts to bring education back to the state list, according to education sources.
 On the other hand, the BJP and the central government have been insisting that the National Education Policy aims to raise the standard of education, make Indian students globally competitive, provide flexibility in language learning and reduce over-reliance on English.
 The Central government says that this is not an attempt to impose Hindi, but to provide an opportunity to learn another Indian language.
 Educationists point out that the state education policy should be closely monitored to see if any elements of the National Education Policy have been included. But the Tamil Nadu government is strongly opposed to this. Tamil Nadu leads in both school and higher education.
Many educational institutions in the top 25 and top 100 rankings are from Tamil Nadu. With the release of the state education policy, it is expected to reaffirm Tamil Nadu’s long-standing commitment to social justice, equality and linguistic diversity.