TIRUCHY: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president KS Alagiri has said the party will take strong action if the Central government fails to change its stance on the issue of making Hindi the compulsory third language.“We are not against Hindi or any other Indian language. All we are saying is that it should not be imposed on students,” he said.
The issue came to the fore last week following the release of a draft by the Centre which stated that Hindi should be compulsorily taken as a third language by students in non-Hindi speaking States.
Citing the example of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, Alagiri said, “He knew as many as 16 languages, but no one imposed them on him. He learnt because he had an interest in languages. This should also apply to students and not become a burden for them. The students already learn two languages. If one more language is added, it means there is one more exam to write and this could bring down their overall academic performance.”
Speaking of Tamil Nadu’s performance in NEET this year, Alagiri said, “We got a pass percentage of around 46 per cent. Though it is higher than last year, it is very less compared to many other States. There are different syllabuses in the State and the government needs to ask for an exemption for a couple of years so they can be changed and students from our State can show improved performance.”