Page 26 - EW August 2025

Education News

the more valuable gift of education. It will ensure their THEY SAID IT
prosperity and upward social mobility,” said Naidu.
For decades the southern state of Kerala (pop. 39 mil- “Close to 60 percent of India’s 34 million
lion) has enjoyed the status of India’s most literate state. students enrolled in undergraduate degree
With Chandrababu Naidu widely acknowledged as the courses may end up in jobs unrelated to what
country most go-getting private industry and education
champion back in charge, Kerala’s status is endangered. they study in college or university. That’s
Priyanka Edupuganti (Hyderabad) nearly 29 million studying subjects irrelevant
to their future. Is this not a waste of national
KARNATAKA resources?”
Language wars fallout Binay Panda, professor at JNU, in an essay titled
‘Courses that don’t matter, graduates whom no one
wants’ (Times of India, July 15)
fter tamil nadu and maharashtra, karnataka (pop.69
million) is the latest state to reject the three-lan- “Historically, universities have served as
Aguage formula mandated by the National Educa- spaces where civilizational questions are
tion Policy (NEP) 2020, and is set to legislate its own State
Education Policy (SEP). NEP 2020 mandates all children posed, where the past is interrogated, and
in primary-secondary school learn three languages viz, where future possibilities are imagined. To
their mother tongue, a “foreign language” (English) and reduce these institutions to sites of ideologi-
any other native Indian language preferably Hindi. On cal policing is to betray their very essence.”
June 30, chief minister Siddaramaiah announced that Shelley Walia, former professor at Panjab University,
the Congress government supports implementation of a Chandigarh in an essay titled ‘Ideas on trial, critical
two-language formula (state thinking in retreat’ (The Hindu, July 22)
language Kannada and English)
in Karnataka schools. “The joy of learning has been replaced by
Earlier on June 29, the BJP-
Shiv Sena (Shinde) coalition anxiety over rankings, results and relentless
government in Maharashtra performance metrics. Students… are caught
withdrew its Government Reso- in a web that rewards conformity over
lution directing all schools to curiosity, output over understanding and
implement NEP 2020’s three- endurance over well-being.”
language policy after opposition Justice Sandeep Mehta of the Supreme Court hearing a
parties protested imposition of Chief minister Siddaramaiah plea filed by parents of a medical aspirant who died
Hindi (see p.20). It’s pertinent by suicide (July 25)
to note that way back in 1965, when Hindi was declared
the national language, riots broke out in southern India, “India is not only buying massive amounts of
in particular Tamil Nadu, protesting “Hindi imperialism”.
Since then, Tamil Nadu has followed a two-language policy Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil
(English and Tamil), a commitment it has reaffirmed by purchased, selling it on the open market for
rejecting NEP 2020 in toto and formulating its own SEP. big profits... Because of this, I will be substan-
Following Tamil Nadu’s lead, Karnataka’s Congress gov- tially raising the tariff paid by India to USA.”
ernment has constituted an expert committee chaired by US President Donald Trump announcing 25 percent
former University Grants Commission chairman Sukhdeo trade tariffs on India (August 4)
Thorat to draft its own State Education Policy. According
to some reports, in its SEP, due to be submitted shortly, the
Thorat Committee has endorsed the two-language policy. “The fundamental issue underlying current
Currently, Karnataka’s 75,869 government and private electoral controversies is the erosion of
schools follow the three-language policy under which they institutional trust. The ECI’s credibility
teach Kannada, English and Hindi. depends not merely on technical soundness
Some private school associations in the state have op- but also on public confidence in its
posed the Congress government’s intent to discontinue the impartiality and transparency. ”
three-language policy in favour of teaching two languages. Editorial on the allegations of "criminal fraud" charge
They argue that the NEP 2020’s three-language mandate levelled against the Election Commission of India by
promotes “multilingualism and the power of language in Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi (The Hindu, August 9)

26 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2025