New Delhi

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday criticised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin over his remarks on the three-language formula, dismissing claims of “Hindi imposition” as politically motivated and misleading.

The minister said portraying the policy as coercive was an attempt to create confusion and divert attention from governance shortcomings. He described the National Education Policy 2020 as a progressive framework designed to promote linguistic diversity rather than impose any one language.

Earlier, Stalin had alleged that the three-language model was being used indirectly to expand Hindi in non-Hindi-speaking regions, calling it a “covert” move embedded within the CBSE curriculum aligned with NEP-2020.

Responding to the criticism, Pradhan asserted that the policy prioritises mother tongues and enables students to learn in their native language, while also encouraging multilingual proficiency. He argued that presenting multilingualism as a threat undermines opportunities for students to become globally competitive.

The Union minister maintained that the policy respects constitutional values by treating all Indian languages equally and seeks to overcome the limitations of the existing two-language system. He also highlighted implementation measures such as teacher training, institutional strengthening, and schemes like Samagra Shiksha.

Taking a swipe at the Tamil Nadu government, Pradhan accused it of denying students broader educational opportunities by resisting central initiatives. He alleged that the state had delayed the rollout of PM-SHRI schools by not signing the required agreement, thereby affecting access to improved infrastructure and quality education for underprivileged students.

He further said that the Centre remains committed to funding and capacity-building efforts, but progress in the state has been hindered by what he termed “politically driven resistance”.

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Pradhan reiterated that branding the policy as “linguistic imposition” was a distortion of its intent and urged the Tamil Nadu leadership to align with national efforts to strengthen India’s multilingual fabric.