CHENNAI: School Education Minister A Rajmohan on Wednesday said ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’ would continue to be accorded the first place at all state government events.
Responding to questions about the state song being rendered third at the recent Manonmaniam Sundaranar University convocation, after the National Anthem and Vande Mataram, in the presence of the governor, the minister said this was not the first such instance.
He pointed out at the 85th convocation of Annamalai University, attended by the the then Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy, Tamil Thai Vaazhthu was rendered after the National Anthem. He added a similar protocol was followed at a function attended by the then chief minister MK Stalin at Lok Bhavan before the Assembly election.
On the proposal to introduce chicken biryani in the midday meal scheme in government schools, Rajmohan said the scheme had evolved over the decades through contributions from successive governments. “As this government’s contribution, I have proposed introducing chicken biryani to Chief Minister Vijay,” he said. He added since the proposal involved multiple departments, the government would decide after due consultation.
Committee to examine private school fee collection
The minister also announced the government would constitute a committee comprising retired judges and educationists to examine complaints of private schools collecting exorbitant fees.
He said he had not received much feedback indicating that private school fees had come down even after the alleged collection of party funds during the previous regime, which he claimed had inflated costs for school managements, was abolished.
Rajmohan reiterated the government’s priority remained strengthening government schools and said the present administration had only eliminated corruption in granting approvals to private schools. “This should not be seen as a favour to private schools. We will ensure that not a single government school is shut down,” he added.
‘Introduce computer science from Class 1’
Chennai: Several computer teachers’ associations has urged the state government to introduce computer science as a subject from Classes 1 to 10 with dedicated textbooks. The demand was raised during a consultation meeting chaired by School Education Minister A Rajmohan at the Anna Centenary Library on Wednesday.
Teachers pointed out that several states, including Kerala, have introduced Information and Communication Technology (ICT) curriculum from the primary classes, whereas computer science is offered only from Class 11 in Tamil Nadu, for students who opt for the stream.