We did not boycott Pokhriyal's meeting, says TN School Education Minister

The new Tamil Nadu Minister for School Education said that the DMK-led government, sworn in just ten days ago, did not boycott the meeting chaired by Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal, but rather expressed its displeasure over centre ministers discussing affairs with state ministers. 

"Even now, we are waiting for an email from the MoE regarding our meeting with the minister. No representatives from the state attended the meeting because the ministry did not respond to our request," TN Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi told EdexLive. He added that the TN government is however still ready to meet Pokhriyal and discuss the ideas.

The said meeting was held virtually on Monday, where Pokhriyal discussed the new National Education Policy and the feasibility of conducting Class XII examinations with the education secretaries. No representative from Tamil Nadu attended the meeting.

What was the request? "We were expecting that the government can give its and the Chief Minister's (M K Stalin) view on the NEP," said Poyyamozhi, adding that the meeting was against the concept of federalism. "In 2019, when the NEP's draft was released, the DMK had given its views on the pros and cons of the NEP. However, none of this was considered and the draft itself was implemented in 2020," he said.

The minister went on to explain the DMK's contention with the NEP. "The policy talks of centralisation, privatisation and indirectly saffronisation. We had mentioned that in our view, but that wasn't considered," he said. "We are against conducting board examinations for classes III, V and VIII. The NEP also puts on a lot of burden on children as young as pre-kg students. Instead, they should let the children enjoy their childhood," he added. He also criticised the three-language policy and said that instead of science, the policy is promoting vocational courses, Hindi and Sanskrit. He also expressed his displeasure over the document not mentioning reservations.

What if the MoE doesn't accede to the DMK's demands, we asked. "We will seek our CM's advice on this matter," he said starkly.