Following protests in various states over the draft of the National Education Policy that allegedly imposed Hindi as a language to be learnt, media agencies reported that the Narendra Modi government on Monday modified the document.
The revised draft of the National Education Policy, which was circulated on Monday, noted students had the option to change any language they studied and did not contain any specific references to Hindi.
The revised draft noted, “In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level) in their modular Board Examinations some time during secondary school”.
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The original draft required students in non-Hindi-speaking states to study Hindi and English, along with their regional language. The draft of the National Education Policy had been prepared by a panel led by Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, former chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation.
The original draft of the National Education Policy had led to vehement protests by various political groups, in particular in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Raj Thackeray, leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, warned the Modi government not to “incite” people by enforcing the new policy. The ruling AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu had warned that it would not enforce the National Education Policy if it was perceived to be imposing Hindi.