Policy Lessons in Tamil Nadu’s Language Formula

Context:  The New Education Policy misses the vital empirical evidence of Tamil Nadu following a language formula that achieved significant positive social and economic changes.

Annadurai’s vision on vernaculars:

• Priority to Mother tongue: 

• Beyond Tamil and English (in order of preference) no other language would be taught in the schools of Tamil Nadu either as a language or medium of instruction.
• This policy is similar to one-language formula (invariably mother tongue) for teaching children in the primary classes in many developed countries. 
• Voluntary learning of other languages is widely prevalent in developed countries.

• Official language:

• He wanted the official language to be equidistant to all the members of a multilingual society.
• For this, he insisted that all the national languages should be made official languages and English should be the common link language, 

• Unique position of English:

• English is the language we communicate with a larger world. 
• He explained the importance of English by citing the American example that they have chosen English as the official language with only 20% of people from British Isles.

The case of Singapore

• Socio-economic development: Japan and Singapore can be cited as two countries which handle language policy as a strategic tool to achieve socio-economic development.

• Status of English: Mission of Lee Kuan Yew, the architect of modern Singapore, giving equal status to English and mother tongue can be compared to Annadurai’s mission.

• For equal opportunity: 

• They realised that a multicultural society could enhance its status only if each of its cultural groups felt that it was on a par with others. 
• They recognised languages of every social group. 

• Hindi vs Chinese:

• In Singapore, 74.2% of the population is Chinese, and still, they did not declare Chinese to be the sole official language and satisfied the Chinese who were in the majority.
• In India, Hindi-speaking people has not crossed 50%.
• Thus the urge to make Hindi as a sole official language in India is not a reasonable argument.

Reality check in Tamil Nadu

• Outcomes are not par with Singapore: education standards are not comparable in terms of outcomes. 
• Implementation failure:  Not having command over either English or Tamil due to bad implementation.

Conclusion

• There is a need to study the educational ecosystem throughout the world and compare it with the strengths and weaknesses of Tamil Nadu’s and work towards the possibility of implementing the two-language formula successfully throughout India.
• This would throw light not only on India’s education policy but also on its official language policy.