TN School Education Minister rebuts Governor Ravi, says State board excels on all parameters

CHENNAI: School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Monday said that the state board syllabus is far better than the one adopted by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), setting benchmarks way higher than what has been envisaged in the National Education Policy (NEP), in an obvious rebuttal to Governor RN Ravi who praised NCERT curriculum and painted education standards of state board as poor.

The education minister urged RN Ravi to visit students from the state preparing for competitive exams, claiming that they largely rely on class 6 to 12 books framed by the state board. “It is proof for the higher parameters set by the state board,” the minister added.

The minister was talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event distributing certificates for lab technicians trained by the government in Tiruchy.

He rebutted the claims of the Governor saying that he had personally visited as many as 180 assembly constituencies across the state and visited libraries in the segments, interacting with aspirants of competitive exams who used to inform about the higher benchmark of the state syllabus.

“I have personally seen them using textbooks from class 6 to 12 of the state board for their preparation as most of the questions cover from the state syllabus and a large number of them are successful in the exams too,” Mahesh said.

“If the Governor is willing, I can take him to one such library and let him verify the truth about the State syllabus”, Mahesh said.

Pointing out that the Union government has been putting pressure on the state government to implement the three-language formula by all means, Mahesh charged that the Union government has even been holding back the funds meant for state education for failing to implement the three-language formula.

“We have met the Union minister twice appealing to release the funds. The Union minister has been demanding written consent to implement the three-language formula for the immediate release of funds. Even the officials have had talks with the ministry and that too had gone futile”, the minister said.

He said that all such developments had been informed to the Chief Minister MK Stalin and steps would be initiated based on his advice, he added.

Earlier the minister distributed certificates to the lab assistants who had completed training across the state.