Amid uproar over the draft National Education Policy that recommends making teaching of Hindi compulsory up to class 8, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday urged all stakeholders to go through the entire report, instead of reacting hastily.
“I urge everybody… don’t be hasty before coming toconclusions. Go through entire report, study, discuss and analysis and react sothat government can act after the discussions,” he said while addressingthe “Industry Academy Interaction for Improvement of Quality ofAcademics” organised by the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy(IIPE) here.
He said that the core issues of education agitating minds ofthe people were very important and they deserve attention by all concerned.
“In our country some people for political or otherreasons have the habit of immediately saying something by seeing newspaperheadlines,” he said in an obvious reference to reaction by politicalparties from Tamil Nadu, which alleged that the proposed policy is aimed atimposing Hindi.
“We should not be seen quarrelling on languages,”he remarked.
Venkaiah Naidu suggested that north Indians should learn onesouth Indian language and south Indians should learn one north Indian languagefor national integration.
He pointed out that draft policy proposed that children upto class five at least and ideally up to class eight must be taught in theirmother tongue.
“Children are able to understand basics better inmother tongue. Learning English is also required but that should be afterlaying the foundation,” he said.
He lauded Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao forannouncing that Telugu will be a compulsory subject and advised the AndhraPradesh government to think of making Telugu compulsory as an officiallanguage.
Naidu said many graduates were ending up “neither herenor there” by forgetting their mother tongue in the craze for English butlacking communication skills even in English.
Calling for revamping the entire educational system, he saidit should ensure industry and academy interface, academy and agricultureinterface and reduction of syllabi for children as they were carrying loads ofbooks and some of them ending up with cervical or orthopaedic problems.
Reducing the load of school bags, promoting yoga and sports,inculcating morals, scientific and rationale temperament, history and thecontribution of the freedom fighters should become part of the curriculum, hesuggested.
He also called for establishing a symbiotic relationshipbetween academia and the industry to create an ecosystem for innovation tothrive and generate employment for the youth.
Pointing out that the Indian universities did not figure inthe top 100 ranking global universities, the Vice President urged universitiesand educationists to introspect and improve the standards. Observing that Indiawas once known as ‘Vishwaguru’, he said that India must once again become theglobal hub for knowledge and innovation.