Will meet T.N. Education Minister soon on NEP: Sivankutty
Preliminary discussions have been held with the Tamil Nadu government that shares the State's concerns on the National Education Policy (NEP), Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said.
On the directions of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, discussions had been held over phone with Tamil Nadu Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, a statement from the Minister on Saturday said.
A meeting had been planned with the Minister to draw up joint legal and policy strategies to protect States' rights in the sector of education. The meeting would take place in two weeks, the Minister said.
The State, he said, would seek legal recourse against the Union government decision to deny it ₹1,500.27 crore under various Centrally sponsored education schemes, including PM-SHRI,
The Union government was withholding the funds to press the State to sign the agreement for implementing PM-SHRI to develop schools that showcased the NEP. The State had communicated its concerns regarding the NEP to the Union government. These had also been shared with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at a recent meeting. Despite this, the Union government had not reconsidered its stance, the Minister said.
The Supreme Court, in a recent verdict, had said that no State could be compelled to NEP. Against the backdrop of the fund denial and the apex court verdict, the State government was exploring legal options against the Union government decision.
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