Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday announced the constitution of a committee to formulate a State Education Policy for Tamil Nadu.
It will be headed by the former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, D. Murugesan, and comprises a broad spectrum of experts in academics, sports and music.
The other members are Jawaharnesan, former vice-chancellor, Saveetha University (deemed); Ramanujam, former professor of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences; Sultan Ahmed Ismail and Rama Srinivasan, members, Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission; Aruna Ratnam, former education officer, UNICEF; writer S. Ramakrishnan; world chess champion Viswanathan Anand; musician T.M. Krishna; educationist Tulasidas; author and educationist R. Madasamy; R. Balu, headmaster of a government panchayat union middle school at Kichaankuppam in Nagapattinam district; and Jayashree Damodharan of Agaram Foundation.
In a statement, Mr. Stalin noted that a number of education policies had been framed in the country earlier. “But there is a drastic growth in today’s technological world. Some things that were unimaginable a few years ago are now opening up our imagination. Today’s technology will be obsolete tomorrow. Hence, for students to embrace the future technological era and for growth in education, there is a need for new schemes to be framed,” he said.
The committee would draft the policy within a year and present it to the government, he said.
Last year, Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, in his revised budget speech 2021-22, had said the government would appoint a high-level committee of educationists and experts to formulate a distinct State education policy in keeping with the historical legacy, the present situation and the State’s future aspirations.
The Chief Minister recalled that the State government had introduced a 7.5% horizontal quota for government school students in the admission to engineering and medical courses, and was taking care of the fees, accommodation and other expenses of such students.
Mr. Stalin said the government had also passed the Bill seeking to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET in the Assembly on February 8, 2022 (for the second time after the earlier Bill was returned by the Raj Bhavan). It was sent to the Governor for being forwarded to the President for his assent.
