Consider plea to introduce English-medium classes in Tenkasi govt school
Madras high court
has directed authorities to consider and pass orders on a plea seeking the introduction of English-medium classes at a government higher secondary school in Vellalankulam in Tenkasi district.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by K Anand, a resident of Tenkasi, who highlighted a significant drop in student enrollment over the past decade due to the absence of English-medium instruction. The school, located in a remote village, is the only educational institution in the area and primarily serves children from agricultural families.
Despite submitting a formal representation to introduce English-medium classes to boost enrollment and improve access to quality education, the petitioner received no response from authorities.
This led him to approach the court.
A division bench comprising Justice S Srimathy and Justice R Vijayakumar instructed the authorities to consider the petitioner's representation on its merits, following due process and after hearing all concerned parties. The court ordered that a decision be made within 12 weeks and disposed of the petition.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
32 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Constitutional validity does not mean desirability, ex-CJI Khanna tells one nation, one election panel
Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has told a parliamentary committee scrutinising the simultaneous election Bill that the constitutional validity of a proposal in no way amounts to a pronouncement upon the desirability or necessity of its provisions. In his written opinion to the committee, Justice Khanna, however, said arguments related to the dilution of the country's federal structure might be raised about the constitutional amendment Bill, as he listed the various claims made supporting and criticising the concept, sources said. Most of the experts, who have shared their views with the committee headed by BJP MP P.P. Chaudhary, have rejected the charge that the proposals are unconstitutional but have flagged some issues with the current provisions of the Bill. Justice Khanna, who is scheduled to interact with the committee on Tuesday (August 19, 2025), has joined a few other former CJIs in raising concerns over the extent of power given to the Election Commission (EC) in the Bill. He said the Bill conferred "unfettered discretion" on the EC in deciding that an Assembly poll could not be conducted along with that of the Lok Sabha, and to make a recommendation to the President on these lines, the sources said. "This clause will be open to question as violating and offending the basic structure of the Constitution on the ground of being arbitrary and offending Article 14 of the Constitution," he is learnt to have said. Article 14 deals with equality before law. Indirect President's rule Justice Khanna added, "Postponement of elections by the EC may result in indirect President's rule, in other words, the Union government taking over the reins of the State government. This will be questionable judicially, as violating the federal structure envisaged by the Constitution." Commenting on various arguments related to the Bill, he said the fact that simultaneous elections were held in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967, was a "coincidence", certainly not an express or not even an implied constitutional mandate. Justice Khanna said there was a difference between "merit review" and "judicial review". When the Supreme Court or High Courts uphold constitutional validity, it was a mere affirmation of the legislative power and that the amendment or the provision was not violative of the constitutional limitations, he said. "The court decisions in no way amount to pronouncement upon the desirability or necessity of such provisions," he added. Before Justice Khanna, former CJIs D.Y. Chandrachud, J.S. Khehar, U.U. Lalit and Ranjan Gogoi have interacted with the committee members on various provisions of what is often referred to as "one nation one election" Bill. The BJP and its allies have supported the Bill, asserting that it will boost growth by cutting down on expenditure caused by the relentless poll cycle, leading to frequent deployment of security and civil officials on poll duty and the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct. The Opposition has argued that it undermines democratic principles and weakens federal structure.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Putin, Trump break the ice, Kyiv feels the chill
It was a meeting of the two titans. On the morning of August 15, Russian president Vladimir Putin landed at Anchorage Airport in Alaska. US president Donald Trump stood on the carpet awaiting his guest's arrival, and Putin, alighting from the plane, set the tone and tempo for the summit with his 'dear neighbour'. So far, Trump hasn't accorded the honour of a personal welcome to even any of his Western allies. Many started drawing positive conclusions about the summit from the body language of the two leaders. But the Alaska summit, of which expectations had been high, failed to reach a conclusion and has left behind a fog of new concerns. There's a host of reasons for such a conclusion. The summit was expected to last for five to six hours, but it ended within three hours. A day earlier, Trump had said he wouldn't be happy if a ceasefire (in the Ukraine war) didn't materialise from the summit. He had even threatened Russia with harsher sanctions if there was no ceasefire. However, his threats proved ineffective. During the press conference, he grudgingly accepted that while they made some progress, many important issues remained unresolved. Putin said he hoped both the countries could work together on key concerns. The summit should be seen as a diplomatic thaw with little concrete outcomes. At most, Alaska can pave the way for another discussion. Trump said as much when he announced that he would be talking to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Nato allies to fix a date and venue for further talks. In an interview to Fox News just before the summit, Trump hinted that now it's up to Zelensky to take a call on the future of his nation. Could Zelensky end up isolated? Remember how Trump and his deputy, JD Vance, bullied Zelensky in full media glare at the White House? Experts argue that last year in Istanbul, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of a deal but Zelensky stopped short of it on the assurance of full US support. Ukraine is surviving with the help of European nations, but as the conflict slides into an endless morass, Europe will find it difficult to keep supporting. Putin understands this and is in no hurry for peace. During the Alaska summit, Trump interestingly seemed to have controlled his usual urge to hog the limelight by offering the opening address to Putin. In a 12-minute presser, Putin spoke for a little over eight minutes while Trump took less than four minutes. He ended in his characteristic style saying, 'Vladimir, I hope we meet soon'. Not missing the opportunity, Putin quickly replied in English: 'This time, in Moscow'. The statement caught Trump off guard. No media questions were allowed. It was clear both the leaders did not have much to say. The summit did not reach any conclusion because Putin isn't budging from his four core demands: A large portion of land annexed by Russia from Ukraine be recognised as Russian territory; annexed Crimea be recognised similarly; immediate ban on Nato's expansion; and urgent lifting of sanctions on Russia. Trump can neither accept these demands nor does he have the political capital to force Ukraine or his Western allies to accept these. Contrary to his claims, Trump is not bothered about lives being lost in Ukraine or in any conflict areas. His eyes are set on Ukrainian minerals and agricultural products, and he's wary of the increasing closeness between Moscow and Beijing. He also perceives a new threat in Brics. If the group keeps gaining heft, it may end up being a threat to the US in future. The combined economic strength of China, India, Brazil and Russia is almost twice that of Europe. These statistics don't favour the US in a changing global scenario. Trump knows that tariffs and economic sanctions alone can't contain Russia. Many of his predecessors failed in their attempts to tame Russia. This is the reason the US maintains the façade of sanctions on Russia but uses back-channel diplomacy to increase trade with it. Since Trump's second presidency, Russia-America trade has witnessed a 20% surge. As for India, after the Alaska summit, Trump said he may not impose 'additional tariffs' as a penalty or punishment on countries buying Russian oil. It's not clear whether he was talking about the 25% penalty he imposed or any new tariff that he was working on. With the Alaska meeting having ended as a damp squib, New Delhi is keenly watching. Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
KDA Chairman demands early implementation of SEP
Kannada Development Authority (KDA) Chairman Prof. Purushotham Bilimale has demanded that the State government implement the new proposed State Education Policy (SEP) at the earliest. In a letter written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and concerned education ministers of the state, he said that the SEP Commission had given a 'very comprehensive' education policy, in a first-of-its-kind exercise. 'If the report is implemented properly, the state's education sector will change radically over the next decade,' he said. Further, he stated that several studies have confirmed that the three-language formula forcibly imposes Hindi and does not help improve the cognitive and academic ability of students. 'In this context, the SEP report, which has recommended a two-language policy with Kannada and English for the State, is a very timely step,' Prof. Bilimale said. 'It is important to note that the commission had not ignored non-Kannada and non-English languages while recommending a two-language policy. The report states that Kannada and English languages will remain mandatory as the first or second language, and that interested students will be allowed to learn their mother tongue as a third language,' he explained, adding that this was much needed in 'today's complex linguistic environment'. 'The recommendations of the SEP are mainly based on the Constitution of India, the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act, 2022, The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, The Kannada Language Learning Act, 2015 and all aspects of the National Education Policy 1968, 1986, 1992 and 2020, among other policies and laws. This is a constitutionally sound policy and can serve as a model education policy for the country,' he said, demanding its early implementation.
