Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday quelled apprehensions over the National Education Policy (NEP) amid opposition from non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and said that the Centre will not impose NEP on all states and that they are free to adapt to it based on their requirements.
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan (left) and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman launching the textbooks in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on Thursday.
Launching two books – Kui Primer and Desia Primer – in Bhubaneswar to simplify primary education for tribal children in Odisha, Sitharaman said NEP 2020 is a “very progressive policy and is a result of extensive consultations”.
“NEP is a flexible policy. It is not something that the Centre decides and imposes on all the states. It is a broad framework, and the states are left to adapt it according to their requirements,” she said, adding that when one learns, speaks and thinks in their mother tongue, there’s a clarity of thought which can be used later. “That’s why learning in the mother tongue is important.”
Her observation came amid vehement opposition to the policy by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and DMK minister Udayanidhi Stalin in Tamil Nadu.
