CHENNAI: The question of State autonomy always played an important role in Tamil Nadu’s electoral politics. This time, the focus is specifically on the education sector. With issues surrounding the National Education Policy (NEP), Anna University and its Vice-Chancellor, NEET for medical admissions, and Higher Education Commission (HEC) making an impact on students here, the Dravidian majors know that they have the power to decide election outcome.
It is, hence, no wonder that the State government has been trying to take stronger measures on these issues over the last few months. The popular public view in the State has always been against Central policies that subsume State autonomy. The Opposition here has not missed any chances to criticise any such Central policies rolled out in the last few years. It has consistently attacked the ruling party for being soft on such matters.
Overall, the Opposition managed to peg it as an attempt to saffronise education in the Dravidian State. In a bid to thwart these charges, the ruling AIADMK began initiating strong measures since the beginning of this year. But the charges began all way back in 2017, with the introduction of NEET.
The not-so NEET story
The common medical entrance test, NEET, was met with vehement opposition in Tamil Nadu. The government, which exuded confidence in its ability to get the State excluded from the test five years back, now takes pride for having introduced free coaching classes for government school students. At least 18 student suicides across the State have been attributed to NEET, five of which happened in 2020. Despite several representations to Central governments, judicial battles, and even a petition to the President, the State was not excluded from the test. Ultimately, it sought an internal solution. In a landmark decision in 2020, the AIADMK government introduced a 7.5 per cent reservation in State medical and dental college seats for government school students. DMK had pushed for a 10 per cent reservation.
NEP in the bud
The draft NEP was released by Centre in 2019. It received severe backlash from stakeholders in Tamil Nadu as it went through a series of steps, and was finally approved in 2020. The State government picked up only a few issues in the NEP that it planned to address, including the politically-explosive three-language policy in the draft. The Central Cabinet, a day after BJP returned to power last year, approved the NEP. However, paying heed to the State’s criticism, Centre clarified that Hindi will not be mandatory and that respective State governments would be able to pick the three languages.
Fear factor
In July 2018, Tamil Nadu government opposed Centre’s proposal to form Higher Education Commission (HEC) of India to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC). The State and many educationists warned that such a move would push Education from Concurrent List to purely being in the Central domain.
Anna University hit the headlines after MK Surappa took charge as the Vice Chancellor in April 2018. Surappa’s appointment had stirred a controversy with politicians condemning the Governor for appointing a person hailing from Karnataka, when TN and Karnataka were embroiled in the Cauvery dispute. The AIADMK government went to the point of denying the Institute of Eminence (IoE) tag for Anna University to preserve the 69% reservation.
Interestingly, on all these matters, both Dravidian majors -- one ruling and the other in Opposition -- were ideologically on the same page. The Opposition merely commented on the efficiency of the resistance to Centre by the ruling government. But, what would happen after the elections? Would a new government go back on these checks and balances to preserve the State autonomy over education?
Reviving past glory
A look at the manifestos released by both the governing and Opposition parties this year reveals over a dozen promises to revive, translate, publish, promote, spread and praise Tamil literature locally and globally