SC tells Tamil Nadu to ‘change mindset on Hindi’ in case about setting up Centre-run schools

Tamil Nadu had moved the court arguing that Navodaya school model was incompatible with its two-language policy.

The Supreme Court on Thursday told the Tamil Nadu government to change its “mindset” on teaching Hindi in the state’s schools while hearing a case about setting up Union government-run Navodaya schools in every district, Live Law reported.

Tamil Nadu has repeatedly resisted the establishment of the centrally funded schools, which come under the Union Ministry of Education, arguing that the Navodaya model is in conflict with the state’s two-language policy.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu have long opposed attempts to introduce Hindi as a third language under the three-language formula.

The three-language policy refers to teaching students English, Hindi and the native language of a state. It was introduced in the first National Education Policy in 1968, and was retained in the new policy from 2020.

During the hearing on Thursday, Nagarathna said that “you have to change your mindset, it can’t be that Hindi will not be taught in the soil of Tamil Nadu,” Bar and Bench reported.

The bench said that “having something in addition will not bring down your standards” and argued that Navodaya schools would instead “enhance the high standards” of education in the state.

“If Navodaya schools were going to lower the standard of education in Tamil Nadu we would have said that irrespective of what you would have said,” the court said.

The bench added that “people in Chennai should not alienate Delhi and vice-versa”.

In 2017, the Madras High Court directed the state government to set up Navodaya schools in every district, holding that doing so would not violate the Tamil Nadu Tamil Learning Act.

The state government approached the Supreme Court, arguing that education falls within the state’s domain and that the Navodaya school model was incompatible with Tamil Nadu’s two-language policy.

In December, the Supreme Court directed the state government to identify the land required to establish the schools within six weeks. The state filed an application seeking to recall this order.

On Thursday, the court refused to rescind the order and granted the state government three more months to comply.

The matter will be heard next on December 14.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.