Mumbai: The Tamil Nadu government, while firmly opposing the Union government’s push to impose Hindi through the “three-language policy”, on Friday (August 8) asserted that only a two-language policy would be permitted in the state. Chief minister M.K. Stalin this week released the Tamil Nadu State Education Policy for School Education, reaffirming the state’s commitment to teaching only Tamil and English.According to a report in The Hindu, deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has reiterated the Tamil Nadu government’s position to bring back education to the state list. Minister for school education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said that the National Education Policy was a “vidhi” (fate), but the State Education Policy was a “madhi” (wisdom). According to the Times of India, Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin declared that the state government will not permit “pirroku” (reactionary thinking) in education. He emphasised that the Tamil Nadu State Education Policy is designed to foster samathuva kalvi (education for equality) and pagutharivu kalvi (education with rational thought), reflecting the state’s commitment to equitable and progressive educational principles. The state’s education policy came against the backdrop of the ongoing protest against the National Education policy (NEP) that the Union government has been trying to implement across the country.The announcement came after recommendations were made by a committee tasked with formulating a state education policy. In April 2022, Stalin announced the constitution of a committee comprising of Justice Murugesan, former Chief Justice of the Delhi high court, as its head, along with academics and experts in sports and music among other fields. The committee submitted its report in July 2024. The push back against the imposition of NEP and Hindi was also seen in Maharashtra last month when the opposition parties threatened to start a state-wide protest against the introduction of the three-language policy in schools. The two estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray united on the issue and even made a public appearance to voice their opinion on the matter. The compulsory imposition of Hindi for students of class 1-4 was eventually rolled back. The DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu has opposed the NEP, describing it as an act “against social justice”. In May, the party even moved the Supreme Court accusing the Union government for holding back Rs 2,200 crores worth of central funds because they refused to introduce NEP in Tamil Nadu.