CPI, Maiam commends SEP's stand on two-language policy

CHENNAI: The CPI and the MNM, on Saturday, welcomed the state government’s State Education Policy (SEP), describing it as a forward-looking framework that blends equity, quality, and inclusivity.

CPI State secretary R Mutharasan said the policy, released by Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday, reflected Tamil Nadu’s distinct socio-cultural values and encouraged self-confidence and self-reliance among students.

He noted that it reaffirmed the two-language formula after a detailed review of the language policy and made Tamil compulsory in all schools up to class 10. The removal of public examinations for classes 3, 5, 8 and 11 would foster a fear-free learning environment, he said, while seeking clarity on measures to prevent private schools from neglecting Plus One instruction.

He also called for the abolition of “special schools” that promote discrimination and reiterated the CPI’s demand that education be brought fully under State control, resisting Union government pressure to adopt the National Education Policy.

MNM president and Rajya Sabha MP Kamal Haasan said the SEP was drafted with the twin goals of providing quality education to students from modest backgrounds and equipping them with skills to meet global challenges.

He praised the removal of unnecessary public examinations, the policy’s opposition to unfair entrance tests, and its commitment to the two-language formula. Commending the Chief Minister, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, and the committee headed by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice D Murugesan, he said the policy combined equality and social justice with progressive educational reforms.