Education policies have often been mired in controversies in Tamil Nadu. The attempted Hindi imposition in 1937 and the 1960s, the Modified Scheme of Elementary Education in 1953 and the three-language formula mooted in the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) generated intense political heat. The Dravidian parties were at the forefront of these agitations. The DMK and AIADMK have carefully handled education policies and devised a social justice model that has paid quantifiable dividends.
Various concerns
Against this backdrop, when the DMK government recently launched the ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ (ITK), a scheme to take education to the doorsteps of schoolchildren, it came as a surprise that its parent outfit, the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK); its ally, the Communist Party of India (CPI); and left-leaning activists opposed it. The stated objective of the six-month project with a budgetary allocation of ₹200 crore is to bridge the learning gap of students of Classes 1 to 8 who have not attended physical classes since March 2020 due to the pandemic. It involves enrolling 18- to 60-year-old volunteers or “ambassadors”, as Chief Minister M.K. Stalin put it. These volunteers will teach an estimated 34.05 lakh children in 93,000 neighbourhoods for 60 to 90 minutes between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The opposition to the ITK, though not intense, is the first that the DMK government has faced from its allies. The primary objection is that the ITK could turn out to be a ‘soft launch’ of the BJP-led Union government’s NEP, which provides for engagement with children through volunteers. The DK and CPI were apprehensive that Sangh Parivar members would enrol themselves as volunteers and further their “sectarian” agenda. A day before the ITK’s roll out in 12 districts, DK leader K. Veeramani dubbed the scheme a “sweet coated poisonous (RSS) ball” and called upon the government to reconsider its decision.
Mr. Stalin and School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi have sought to counter such apprehensions by insisting that they remain opposed to the NEP. Launching the scheme, Mr. Stalin said the ITK was the foundation for a renaissance in education and is in the spirit of Dravidianism. He equated it with the flagship noon-meal scheme. Accepting the argument that under the NEP, volunteers “could even interfere in the management of schools”, Mr. Poyyamozhi said no such scope would be provided in the ITK. Mr. Veeramani’s “apprehensions will help us be doubly careful, and we will pay attention to the selection of volunteers,” he told The Hindu.
The DK and CPI have since softened their views. However, opposition from activists continues. State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu general secretary P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu fears that parents may stop sending girls to school if education is offered at their doorstep. Stating that the scheme is not a substitute for regular schooling, Mr. Poyyamozhi responded that there is awareness on the importance of educating girl children, and volunteers will play a pivotal role in encouraging parents to send them to school.
Mr. Babu also said that it should be the responsibility of teachers, and not volunteers, to help students acquire reading and writing skills. Besides, the scheme could plant the idea that non-formal education is better and convenient. While Mr. Stalin has said the “ambassadors” will be a bridge between schools and society, the ITK handbook seeks to give them a larger role of teaching literacy and numeracy. The ITK will be extended to the whole of Tamil Nadu from November 14. Only a holistic review at the end of the six-month period will help assess its impact.
sureshkumar.d@thehindu.co.in
