Implement three-language policy in schools: Linguistic minorities

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, chairman of the Linguistic Minorities Forum of Tamil Nadu, Prof. CMK Reddy said that they had received information that the directorate of government examinations had on Wednesday exempted minority language students from writing Tamil as compulsory language in class X board exam this year.

“At a time when we thank the state government for exemption this year we want the State to exempt our students for eight more years as the government appointed Tamil teachers for minority schools by 2014 even as the Act was passed in 2006 itself,” Prof. Reddy said. 

Adding that several states had implemented three language policy allowing students from other minority languages to study their mother tongue, chairman of the forum said that Tamil Nadu too should bring in three language policy for the benefit of minority language students. 

“We have nothing against Tamil, but we’re not willing to forego our mother-tongue,” Prof. Reddy added. Vice-chairman of the forum P.K. Shabbir Ahmed said that government should not equate students with Tamil as mother tongue who study the language for 10 years with those from minority languages pursuing Tamil for two years. 

According to the forum, Tamil Nadu is unique with largest number (40 per cent) of linguistic minorities living in the state, of which 27 per cent have Telugu as their mother tongue, five per cent (Malyalam), 4.5 per cent (Urdu) and 2.5 per cent (Kannada, Hindi, Sourashtra, Sanskrit, etc.)