Taking a stand against centralisation of policy

The Union government’s decision to withhold funds intended for primary education raises concerns regarding leveraging of financial allocations to advance the Union government’s political agenda. It strikes at the heart of India’s democratic and federal structure.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has consistently voiced well-founded reservations against the NEP, particularly over its impact on state autonomy.

First, the NEP’s one-size-fits-all approach is fundamentally flawed for a country as diverse as India. India’s diversity is not just cultural and linguistic, but also developmental. For instance, Tamil Nadu has 4,000 doctors per million inhabitants, compared to Gujarat’s 750 and Bihar’s 637. In terms of economic disparities, in 2023, 5.8% of the population in Tamil Nadu lived below the poverty line, whereas the figures for Gujarat and Bihar stood at 21.8% and 23.3%, respectively. Given such stark variation, imposing a uniform policy across all regions risks stifling the progress of well-performing states and failing to effectively uplift those lagging behind. Education reforms, therefore, must be tailored to address the specific challenges and strengths of each state. States should have the freedom to design their own programmes while being held accountable through measurable outcomes, with funds released based on performance benchmarks, not political leverage.

A major point of contention with the NEP is the imposition of the three-language formula, with Hindi positioned as the default third language. Tamil Nadu has historically rejected this formula, opting for its own well-established two-language system. The NEP’s insistence on a third language does not consider the logistical challenges of its implementation — recruiting language teachers for multiple languages in every school is not a practical solution, given the state of India’s education infrastructure. For instance, as of February 2024, Gujarat reported that 1,606 primary schools operated with only one teacher and had over 19,000 teacher vacancies. Under the NEP, in government schools where students are, theoretically, given a choice of their third language, preferences extend across multiple languages. This would require each school to hire additional language teachers — adding approximately ₹6 lakh per teacher per annum to the state’s spending while aggravating existing teacher vacancies. In such a scenario, Hindi would inevitably become the default third language, leading to what many perceive as an indirect imposition. If language learning is deemed necessary, why limit students to Indian languages? Given India’s aspirations to become a global powerhouse, proficiency in foreign languages — such as French, Chinese, Spanish, or Russian — would open far greater international opportunities for students, thereby enriching their education and broadening their horizons.

The NEP’s 5+3+3+4 system, which introduces public examinations in Class 5 and Class 8, raises further concerns. Research by the World Bank indicates that early public exams contribute significantly to dropout rates, particularly among girls in developing economies. Tamil Nadu, with its high literacy rate, especially among girls, has chosen a different path, introducing public exams only after the 10th grade. This policy has helped maintain a high Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for girls in senior secondary education. The NEP’s approach directly contradicts this model, undermining its own goal of fostering inclusivity and improving educational outcomes.

The NEP also represents a broader encroachment on the rights of states by the Union government. Education is a subject on the Concurrent List, which allows both the Union and state governments to share responsibility. However, the Union government’s increasing efforts at centralisation, including through withholding of of funds and through centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), undermine state autonomy and erode federalism. Opposition-led state governments, including Tamil Nadu, have raised alarms about this discrimination, with CSS being used to bypass state-level initiatives.

India is an unparalleled experiment in pluralism, and imposing unity through excessive uniformity is not only counterproductive but potentially dangerous. Tamil Nadu’s resistance to the NEP is not an act of defiance but a principled stand for the preservation of federalism and rational policymaking that respects regional diversity.

Salem Dharanidharan is a spokesperson of the Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam. The views expressed are personal