The Central government on Saturday clarified that it has not taken a decision on the draft education policy and has no intention of imposing Hindi or any other language. The government also said that the three-language system under the draft New Education Policy (NEP) is just a recommendation and not a policy.
The Centre's response came amid Tamil Nadu opposition parties' objection to the three-language formula for schools in the state as stated in the draft policy and said that the state will follow only two-language policy. They also warned of protests over the inclusion of Hindu in non-Hindi speaking states.
The draft was proposed and prepared by a panel constituted by Prakash Javadekar when he was the HRD minister in the previous government. The draft suggested the inclusion of Hindi in all the non-Hindi speaking states in the country.
The 500-page report states that non-Hindi speaking states would include the regional language - English and Hindi - while states, where Hindi is spoken, would have English and another modern Indian language in addition to Hindi.
The policy states: "Students will be required to attain proficiency in discussing their major in at least one Indian language through an appropriate written project or presentation in that language."
Reacting to the developments, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said the government has not taken any decision on the draft education policy. He also said that there will be no imposition and "all languages will be promoted".
"There is no intention of imposing any language on anybody, we want to promote all Indian languages. It's a draft prepared by the committee, which will be decided by the government after getting public feedback," Prakash Javadekar told news agency ANI.