Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reiterated in the Parliament yesterday, December 2, that the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) advocates for mother-tongue-based education, especially in early years until Class 5.

Speaking during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Pradhan noted that the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan has been aligned with NEP 2020’s recommendations, tying the long-term vision of the NEP 2020 to actual implementation on the ground, Newsonair reports.

Regarding Tamil Nadu’s resistance to Hindi education and the three-language policy, Pradhan cited a recent Supreme Court remark that Tamil Nadu has not implemented central education plans or established Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. He stated that these should be executed in both letter and spirit.

The Union Education Minister criticised the Tamil Nadu government for its stance against the NEP on several earlier occasions. He accused the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government of allegedly politicising the policy and stoking “fear psychosis” about the proposed three-language formula.

He further pointed out that the share of students in English-medium schools in Tamil Nadu has risen to 67 per cent, while Tamil-medium enrolment has reportedly dropped from 54 per cent in 2018–19 to 36 per cent in 2023–24, which is a drop of around 7.3 lakh students in government-aided schools.