'Opposition to 3-language policy political'

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asserts that the sole objective of NEP is to promote all local languages

- BIJOY PRADHAN

WITH Tamil Nadu government refusing to compromise on its stand on the New Education Policy (NEP), Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said the opposition to the three-language policy was purely political.

In a free-wheeling talk with editorial director of The Sunday Standard at the 11th edition of Odisha Literary Festival (OLF) here, Pradhan said the sole objective of the NEP is to promote all local languages. The Centre has taken a decentralised approach so far as language is concerned.

“I think opposition to a particular language in a state is political. If Tamil Nadu is opposing the NEP, it is for political reasons. The entire political community of Tamil Nadu is of the opinion that the teaching methodology should be in Tamil language. In my view, the opposition is for political reasons but there is unanimity at the ground level that there should be a scientific temper for the student and language should not be a barrier,” the minister said.