Quick Take
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Tamil Nadu Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi criticised CBSE for failing students of Classes 5 and 8, calling it anti-education. He urged parents to challenge this decision, warning it could increase dropout rates and mental stress.
Chennai:
In a sharp escalation of tensions with the Centre, Tamil Nadu Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi slammed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for failing Class 5 and 8 students under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, calling the move “anti-education”.
He also urged parents to “question and challenge” the CBSE’s decision. This comes amid reports that CBSE schools have started collecting signed consent forms from parents of the poor-performing students.
The state, which follows a no-failure policy until Class 8, warned that enforcing exams with detention risks will exacerbate school dropout rates and mental stress among children. “How can children who are still in the age of eating chocolates be expected to understand failure?” he questioned.
Although there is a provision for failed students to re-take the tests in two months, Mr Poyyamozhi said failing students at such a young age will only push them out of the education system. “Imagine the pressure and stigma children labelled as ‘failed’ will face,” he said.
Poyyamozhi argued that introducing high-stakes public exams for Classes 5 and 8 contradicts its efforts to ensure universal access to education and even provisions of the Right to Education. “This move will reverse decades of progress in reducing dropout rates, particularly among marginalised communities,” the state Education Minister stated. He added “We have no dropoutsbin elementary level”.
Tamil Nadu has long opposed the NEP, which advocates a three-language system, citing its conflict with the state’s egalitarian education model.
The state government highlighted additional concerns, including exit options after Class 10 that could “prematurely push students out of formal education”.
Chief Minister MK Stalin recently declared his government would “not accept the NEP even if offered Rs 10,000 crore”, reaffirming the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) resistance to what it calls a “divisive” policy.
Tamil Nadu also said the NEP of undermining social justice by discontinuing scholarships for SC, ST and OBC students and introducing national-level entrance tests for arts and science colleges, which could disadvantage rural and economically weaker students.
Further criticism targeted the NEP’s vocational education framework, which the state claims enforces “caste-based roles” from Class 6, potentially perpetuating social hierarchies. The DMK has also vehemently opposed the three-language policy, alleging it covertly imposes Hindi and Sanskrit. “Kendriya Vidyalaya schools in the state already lack Tamil teachers, reflecting a deliberate push to sideline regional languages,” Poyyamozhi added.
Recently, Tamil Nadu had accused the Union Education Ministry of withholding Rs 2,150 crore funds earmarked for the state under the ongoing Samagra Shiksha programme for their non-acceptance of the National Education Policy.
The Centre argues the NEP aims to improve the quality of education across India. Denying that the three-language policy imposes Hindi, it claims the policy only promotes mother tongue learning and strengthens native Indian languages.