Tamil Nadu dithering on joining PM Shri scheme, says Governor R N Ravi

Chennai: Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi on Thursday accused the DMK dispensation of “going back” on its assurance to join the PM Shri Scheme and backed the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 saying it was not framed by the Union Government but by a committee of eminent personalities, including educationists. 

Ravi’s comments during an event in Raj Bhavan came on a day Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin strongly defended the Tamil Nadu state syllabus while refuting the Governor’s earlier statement that it was “uncompetitive” and “below par.”

 “The state government first agreed to join the PM Shri scheme and decided to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Government. But the MoU was about to be signed, they (state government) started tinkering with it. However, the Central government rejected their (objections),” Ravi said. 

 “As far as our state is concerned, they have neither rejected nor signed the agreement. They are dithering, and that’s where the matter is,” the Governor added.

Ravi’s comments come days after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan nudged the state government to join the scheme without imposing any conditions. 

PM-Shri is a scheme conceived by the Union Government to develop exemplar model schools that offer leadership to other schools in the neighbourhood. Pradhan said, in the letter, that the DMK government omitted the portions relating to implementation of NEP in the MoU following which the Union Government raised its objection. 

 The issue attained political colour after Chief Minister M K Stalin and School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi accused the Union Government of “penalising” Tamil Nadu by not releasing funds under Samagra Shiksha (SS) Scheme for not implementing NEP.

Tamil Nadu opposes NEP as the government believes it indirectly impose Hindi by proposing a three-language formula. The state government has been asserting that it will never implement the NEP and three-language formula as it is clear that there is no rethink on the two language formula of Tamil and English.

On Thursday, Udhayanidhi came in strong defence of the state syllabus, which was criticised by the Governor, saying it has produced some of the finest minds in the country.

“Our syllabus is on par with any other syllabus. Tamil Nadu gives utmost importance to education, and we will continue to prioritize and incentivize education,” the Sports Minister added.

Speaker M Appavu also joined the issue by asking the Governor to look at the list of scientists from Tamil Nadu working in the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) who studied the state syllabus.

“From former ISRO chief K Sivan to Mayilsamy Annadurai to P Veeramuthuvel to Nihar Shaji, all these scientists made India proud by studying the state syllabus. The governor should do his homework before speaking,” Appavu added.