AIZAWL, Sept 22 - Mizoram Education Minister Lalchhandama Ralte has voiced his opposition on imposing one particular language as India�s national language.
�India is a multilingual country. Apart from the 22 Eighth Schedule languages, there are major tribal languages in the North East. The �one nation one language� policy that seeks to impose one particular language as the national language and suppress regional languages must be avoided at any cost,� he said at the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) meeting in New Delhi on Saturday.
Commenting on the draft National Education Policy (NEP) 2019, Ralte said it has put the ideas and principles of Mahatma Gandhi as the core of education in India. He, however, expressed regret that the NEP applies the same yardstick for the entire country. �Many educational institutions will fall beyond the ambit of the draft NEP, 2019. It is important that the draft NEP may be revised so as to suit all sections of the people in the country,� he said.
On Hindi education in Mizoram, Ralte urged the Centre to provide salaries to the 1,305 Hindi teachers in Mizoram to revive Hindi education in elementary schools.
He also stressed the need for construction of teachers� quarters for elementary and secondary schools in remote areas of Mizoram. He acknowledged that the HRD Ministry has sanctioned funds for construction of 282 teachers� quarters, which have been completed, and requested the Centre to sanction funds for at least two units of teachers� quarters in every school in rural areas.
The meeting in New Delhi chaired by Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal was attended by 19 state Education Ministers.
