No indirect attempts to implement PM SHRI in Tamil Nadu, no room for ideological compromise: TVK minister Rajmohan

CHENNAI: There will be no indirect attempts to implement the Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme in Tamil Nadu, School Education Minister Rajmohan told mediapersons on Tuesday.The minister’s response came a day after he told mediapersons that the state government would have to assess whether the policies of PM SHRI aligned with the goals of Tamil Nadu.Elaborating further, the minister also condemned the Centre’s practice of withholding funds over the non-implementation of PM SHRI in the state. He said, “These funds are meant for students, not government officials. Withholding funds is unacceptable. Tamil Nadu will not budge to such pressure.”He also reiterated the state’s stand on the two-language policy and said there was no room for ideological compromise. Drawing a parallel with Singaporean statesman Lee Kuan Yew, he said: “The TVK stands firm on the two-language policy of mother tongue and English. Even Lee Kuan Yew developed Singapore from scratch and used only English to reach out to the world.”Earlier in the day, the minister distributed handbooks and teacher training material for classes 1 to 3 to 200 state-level trainers. These trainers will travel to districts across the state to train primary teachers in teaching methodologies following the release of new textbooks.On his first steps as School Education Minister, Rajmohan said the basics in schools would be improved. “We will ensure that toilets are cleaned and well maintained in government schools and provide access to clean drinking water wherever it is lacking, and upgrade classroom infrastructure. Enrolments in government schools will also be reviewed. Government schools are high in number but low in student strength compared to private schools. This imbalance will be corrected,” he added.The minister also wished Class 10 state board students, for whom results will be declared on Wednesday.