Consider diversity of NE before finalising NEP: NESO

The North East Students' Organisation (NESO), a confederation of eight student bodies of the region on Tuesday urged the Centre to consider the diversity of the region before finalising the National Education Policy (NEP).

In a statement NESO demanded that regional languages be accorded due importance by including them in the eighth schedule.

"No language should be made compulsory. But, Centre is trying to surreptitiously thrust Hindi as the sole language of the country through the draft NEP, which will never be accepted," it said.

NESO executive member Sunil Debbarma said that the medium of instruction in the schools should be in the regional languages.

The draft NEP was revised in June following protests in various parts of the country fearing imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi states through the education policy.

"The Centre's intention of imposing Hindi is clear in the draft NEP. Though revised in June, we still have apprehensions that there may be attempts to impose the language in North East," he said.

NESO said the NEP should not be implemented in haste and states should be allowed to prepare the roadmaps for the different sectors after consulting the stakeholders and working out the required finances.

"NEP's emphasis on the need to have centrally- constituted bodies to frame rules and policies and asking the states to only implement them threatens the federal structure of the nation," it said.

NESO said that the education policy should take into account the diverse socio-economic conditions in rural areas.

It said that the time allotted to the stakeholders to offer their views on the draft NEP is limited and at least six more months should be given to deliberate on the workability of NEP after translating it into all the scheduled languages.

NESO comprises of All Assam Students' Union (AASU), Khasi Students' Union (KSU), Naga Students' Federation (NSF), Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), Twipra Students' Federation (TSF), All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU), Garo Students' Union (GSU) and All Arunachal Pradesh Students ' Union (AAPSU).