DMK govt launches ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ criticizes its allies
Education policies in Tamil Nadu have often been in dispute. Attempts to impose Hindi in the 1937 and 1960s, the Revised Plan of Elementary Education in 1953 and the three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 generated intense political heat. The Dravidian parties were at the fore in these movements. DMK and AIADMK have carefully handled education policies and created a social justice model that has paid quantifiable dividends.
various concerns
Against this background, when the DMK government recently launched ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ (ITK), a scheme to take education to the doorsteps of school children, it was surprising that its parent organisation, the Dravida 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 crores 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. This includes the nomination of 18 to 60-year-old volunteers or “ambassadors”, as Chief Minister MK Stalin called it. These volunteers will teach an estimated 34.05 lakh children in 93,000 neighborhoods for 60 to 90 minutes between 5 pm and 7 pm.
The opposition to ITK, though not intense, is the first time the DMK government has to face from its allies. The primary objection is that ITK could be a ‘soft launch’ of the BJP-led central government’s NEP, which provides engagement with children through volunteers. The DK and CPI were apprehensive that members of the Sangh Parivar would enroll themselves as volunteers and further their “communal” agenda. A day before the implementation of ITK in 12 districts, DK leader K. Veeramani termed the scheme as “Sweet Coated Poisonous (RSS) Balls” and called on the government to reconsider its decision.
To counter such fears, Mr Stalin and School Education Minister Ambil Mahesh Poyyamozhi have insisted that they remain opposed to the NEP. Launching the scheme, Mr Stalin said that ITK is the foundation of a renaissance in education and is in the spirit of Dravidism. He compared it to the flagship lunch-meal scheme. Acknowledging the argument that under the NEP, volunteers “can also interfere in the management of schools”, Mr Poyyamozhi said no such scope would be provided in ITK. Mr. Veeramani’s “apprehensions will help us be doubly careful, and we will look into the selection of volunteers,” he said. Hindu,
The DK and the CPI have since softened their views. However, the activists’ protest continues. PB Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of the State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu, 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 replied that there is awareness about the importance of educating the girl child, and that volunteers will play a vital role in encouraging parents to send them to school.
Mr Babu also said that it should be the responsibility of the teachers and not the volunteers to help the students acquire reading and writing skills. In addition, this scheme may give rise to the idea that non-formal education is better and convenient. While Mr. Stalin has said that “ambassadors” will be a bridge between schools and society, the ITK Handbook attempts to give them a greater role of teaching literacy and numeracy. ITK will be expanded across Tamil Nadu from November 14. Only a comprehensive review at the end of the six-month period would help in assessing its impact.
Sureshkumar.d@thehindu.co.in
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