PIL wants compulsory Tamil till Class X – Times of India

CHENNAI: A Chennai resident has moved the Madras high court for a direction to the state government to frame a scheme for proper implementation of Tamil Nadu Tamil Learning Act, introduced in 2006, making Tamil compulsory till Class X.
Admitting the plea on Wednesday, the first bench of Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy directed the state government and the school education department to respond to the plea in two weeks.
According to petitioner S Raghavan, the legislation, introduced in 2006, could not be implemented due to various litigations challenging its constitutional validity.
Though the high court and the Supreme Court have upheld the constitutional validity of the legislation, so far no proper steps have been taken to implement the Act, the petitioner said. He added that only if immediate actions are taken, Class X students would be able to take their board exam with compulsory Tamil paper in 2025.
A section of minority schools approached the high court alleging that the state has not sanctioned them Tamil teachers and obtained exemption from the compulsory Tamil paper, he said.
With less than three years for the expiry of such exemption, it is high time the state takes immediate steps for implementation of the Act, he added.
“In view of the proposal given by the state to the high court to start teaching Tamil in Classes I to X in all schools in a phased manner commencing from academic year 2015-16, all students appearing for Class X board exam must compulsorily appear for Tamil paper,” he pointed out.
“Of the 9 lakh students who appeared for the Tamil paper in the 2021-22 Class X board exam, 47,055 failed to clear the paper,” he said. This is largely attributable to paucity of teachers teaching Tamil in schools across the state, he added.