we are grateful to the Ministry of Human Resource Development for making public the Draft New Education Policy, 2019, and for providing sufficient time for comments to be submitted.

The information provided in the draft National educational policy 2019 and its serious implications:

1. The draft proposes drastic change in the current schooling system by proposing new 5-3-3-4  design,  Unless and until equality in accessing education is assured, the proposed change would be useless as it would not bring any change in the current situation of educational disparities.
2. The draft proposes formal schooling system from the age of 3. 
3. National level Testing would be conducted to check children’s learning ability in the class 3, class 5 and class 8.
But assessing their ability in the smaller classes through examination and retaining them in the same class once they have failed will affect children psychologically and brings inferiority complex. This will make pool of children to stay out of schooling.
4. Classes 9 to 12 would be considered as secondary education and board examinations will be conducted in every 8th term.
5. All school students must receive vocational education in at least one vocation from class 8 to class 12.
6. Any private board permitted by government could give examination certificate to schools for conducting examinations.
7.  A school could select its certifying authority as private board or state board or central board of examination.
8. 15 years of schooling and pass certificate of class 12 are not enough for entering into the colleges.
9. A student must be qualified in pan-India examination to be conducted by national testing agency.
10. For any course from B.Sc, to B.A, there would be national eligibility examination like NEET.
• The proposals in 8,9,10 clearly show the intention to keep majority of the students out of higher education. 
11. One could become doctor only after clearing EXIT examination even after clearing medical degree final exam. NEET, an entry level examination itself has proved to be dangerous as poor students could not aspire to become doctor. Increasing suicidal deaths among poor students is the worst reality in India. Those poor who have crossed the NEET struggle and entered graduation would also now lack any possibility to become doctor because additional burden of EXIT exam will check their entry. Both the examinations will make private coaching institutes to bloom and only rich could afford the training and would become doctor. This policy would trouble lakhs and lakhs of poor families and future of children belonging to vulnerable sections. 
12. It will be a burden for a child to concentrate on three languages instead of concentrating on basic subjects. 
13. There is no clarity over which language would be the basic one for learning and teaching.
14. Public schools which has low enrollment and poor infrastructure should be brought together to form one school complex.
15. All school teachers will be required to complete 4 year integrated degree in teaching universities, closing all teacher training colleges.
16. No more promotion and wage increment for teachers based on teaching experiences. There will be intermittent examinations conducted to check teaching ability and performance. Based on that, promotion and wage increment will be provided.
17. University would stop conferring degrees hereafter. Colleges should develop all required capacities to confer degree itself to its students. If a college doesn’t have that capacity, it should stop functioning. 
18. The new education policy spearheads the privatization of education ignoring the role of government.
19. All universities will be ranked in the order of 1, 2, 3 or 4 and act as Higher Educational institutions.
20. No differentiation between public and private universities. 
21. Universities can be set up by foreign universities.
22. There is no surety for Tamilnadu to continue with 69% reservation in education.
23. The continuance of educational grants and scholarships to the students based on social and educational backwardness as criteria has no passing reference in the draft. Instead, the merit or economic backwardness would be the sole criteria for scholarships.
24. The draft gives more important to Sanskrit language, ignoring the importance of growth of other Indian languages. 
25. Policy suggests lot of changes like a single body for policy making which would lead to huge centralization of education. 
26. There is no reference about student elections in colleges and universities for their representation and participation in the college administration. This democratic right of students is ignored by this draft.

The national educational policy cannot be a policy which is against the core principles of cooperative federalism, social justice, democratic principles, equality of opportunities and right to education envisaged in our constitution. We request the MHRD to withdraw this Policy and also request the  Tamilnadu government should assert its rejection to the central government, conceding to the voices of educationalists and civil society.