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TN makes Tamil compulsory from nursery to 8th standard

In a major step to promote Tamil at the school level, the Tamil Nadu government today made Tamil the medium of instruction for arts subjects and mathematics from nursery to eighth standard in schools affiliated to the state directorate of school education from the next academic year.

Announcing this at a media conference in Madras, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said teaching of Tamil language would also be made be compulsory in all primary schools in the state from the next academic year.

He also disclosed that schools in which Tamil was the medium of instruction would have to pay only 50 per cent of the fee for official recognition. Besides, textbooks would be given to them free of cost, he added.

The existing law preventing admission of students from non-recognised schools to recognised ones would be strictly followed, he added.

Karunanidhi said there were 1,008 private primary and secondary schools in Tamil Nadu where Tamil was not being taught at all. These schools would have to teach Tamil language if they were to get recognition, he added.

He said schools run for the benefit of various linguistic minorities in Tamil Nadu would also have to teach Tamil language, apart from the respective mother tongue and English. Tamil teachers would be appointed to these schools and timings for the teaching of Tamil language would be decided after consultations, he added.

Later, talking to the media, Minister for Official Language and Tamil Culture Dr M Tamilkudimagan clarified that the decision to make Tamil as the medium of instruction would apply only to students joining the nursery schools from the coming year.

UNI

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