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Impact of Tamil Learning Act on minority languages
P.K. SHABBIR AHMED
Since 1968, successive governments in Tamil Nadu have been following the two language formula, viz. mother tongue or regional language as the first language and English as the second language. As a result, linguistic minority children (speaking Urdu, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, etc.) have been enjoying the option of choosing their mother tongue as the first language wherever there are facilities to teach these languages.
There are around 350 schools that offer Urdu as a medium of instruction or as a first language. Schools offering other minority languages must be many more. People speaking minority languages reside all over the State. This situation warranted provision for teaching minority languages in thousands of schools (under the government or local bodies or private managements) in Tamil Nadu.
All this is changing now, thanks to the enactment of Tamilnadu Tamil Learning Act 2006 which states in the preamble: “a policy decision has been taken by the government of Tamil Nadu to ensure that all students studying in standards I to X in all schools in this State learn Tamil as one of the subjects, in a phased manner, from the academic year 2006-2007.” The operative clause (3) states: “(1) Tamil shall be taught as a subject in Standards I to X in all schools, in a phased manner, commencing from the academic year 2006-07 for Standard I, from 2007-08 for Standards I and II and shall be extended up to Standard X in a like manner.
“(2) The pattern of education shall be as follows:
Part I — Tamil (compulsory)
Part II — English (compulsory)
Part III — other subjects (Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, etc.)
Part IV — Students who do not have either Tamil or English as the mother tongue can study their mother tongue as an optional subject.”
Vague provision
This vague provision in the Act for teaching minority languages as an optional, additional and non-exam subject will never be effective anywhere. Experience shows that government and local body schools will not provide facilities for optional languages. Private schools also will not make arrangements for teaching Urdu.
Only schools under Urdu speaking managements may have this provision. Even here when it is optional, most of the children will opt out of this additional burden. A few schools may zealously provide this option. But the very small number of students opting for it will discourage authorities from making necessary academic arrangements. Thus Urdu and other minority languages will practically disappear.
This Act not only removes the existing provision for teaching Urdu as a first language from Standard I onwards but it will also phase it out as a medium of instruction, leading to a situation where only Tamil and English will remain. Of course, the Act does not say anything about the medium of instruction in so many words.
But without provision for teaching Urdu from Standard I, it is impossible to use it as a medium of instruction. The result will be total abolition of Urdu as a language and as a medium of instruction from the school system. What applies to Urdu also applies to other minority languages.
Urdu minorities do want to learn Tamil as a compulsory language and as an exam subject at the public exam of Standard X. But they want to start learning Tamil at a level, say, Standard VI as Paper II of the first language and continue to learn Urdu as Paper I. The syllabus for Tamil must be lighter but adequate enough to give them a working knowledge. This provision was in vogue for a long time till the late 60s. If this practice is revived, all problems will be solved.
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