Woman on a mission, Jayalalithaa bats for Tamil in schools

Chennai, Feb 4: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa seem to be a woman on a mission, and is ready to face the bouquets and brickbats for her decision to make the language Tamil compulsory till Class 6.

The decision was made when she announced it in the Assembly on Friday. Irrespective of students mother tongue, all children up to Class 6 will have to compulsorily study the Tamil language. This rule applies throughout the state.

Jayalalithaa has been quoted as saying, "Students in Tamil Nadu have to learn Tamil as a language. There is no change in that." She was responding to a query by Congress member Gopinath who stated that students from other states were finding it difficult to learn the language owing to the lack of Tamil teachers.

Showing her resolve to make learning Tamil mandatory across Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa said that a similar practice was prevalent in states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, where Kannada and Telugu were taught compulsorily.

She added, "The government will make necessary arrangements to employ teachers. But, all students in Tamil Nadu have to learn Tamil as a language."

OneIndia News