Coimbatore: The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) has initiated steps to identify select Kendriya Vidyalayas where Tamil could be introduced as a medium of instruction on a pilot basis.Dr R Senthilkumar, deputy commissioner, KVS, stated the decision was taken following a representation made by Coimbatore-based activist V Eswaran on Jan 28 to introduce Tamil as the medium of instruction in the Kendriya Vidyalaya at Sowripalayam. In a letter dated Feb 23 and addressed to the activist, Senthilkumar said a decision on introducing regional language as a medium of instruction in other Kendriya Vidyalayas would be taken based on the outcome of the trial run. “Kendriya Vidyalayas are treated as special category schools under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. These schools are primarily established to cater to the educational needs of children of transferable central govt and defence employees, whose shuffling may occur in the middle of an academic year,” the letter read. Under Section 2(p) of the RTE Act, 2009, it said, Kendriya Vidyalayas were classified as special category schools having a distinct character as specified by the appropriate govt. “Accordingly, they function in accordance with central govt policies and the admission guidelines issued by KVS, but within the framework of RTE Act.” Commenting on the response letter, Eswaran said, “This is a big victory as well as a positive sign, because leaders in the state have been pressing for this for the past five decades. Mother tongue as a medium of education is a fundamental right of a citizen. Under Section 29(2)(f) of RTE Act, the medium of instruction shall, as far as practicable, be in the child’s mother tongue.” Furthermore, he said, the National Education Policy, 2020, mandates mother tongue-based education from Classes I to V. “But this has not been implemented so far. This trial run should not be restricted to Tamil Nadu but should be extended to other states on a regular basis. Respective regional languages should be introduced as a subject to students studying English medium.”
