New Delhi: Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday lashed out at media and said that the New Education Policy (NEP) draft report did not recommend making the Hindi language compulsory until class 8. 

Javadekar took to Twitter to dismiss the reports claiming the NEP draft recommended making Hindi mandatory till class 8 for an “India-centric” and “scientific” learning system.

"The Committee on New Education Policy in its draft report has not recommended making any language compulsory. This clarification is necessitated in the wake of mischievous and misleading report in a section of the media,” he said. 

On Thursdays morning several news organisation reported that the NEP draft prepared by the nine-member K Kasturirangan committee recommended to adhere strictly to the three-language formula with Hindi mandatory till class 8 across the country, ensure a uniform syllabus nationwide for Science and Maths, develop a script in Devanagari for tribal dialects, and promote education based on “hunar (skill)”.

Currently, Hindi is not compulsory in every school especially in non-Hindi-speaking states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, West Bengal and Assam.

Javadekar earlier told The Indian Express that the committee members have sought an appointment and he will get the report after the Parliament session. 

The draft, according to reports, also suggested that unlike social sciences that need local content, science and mathematics can have a common syllabus throughout the nation. A Devanagari script should be developed for the tribal languages, which did not have a script or were written in Roman script due to the influence of the missionaries. 
 
It also suggested that the Prime Minister should head the permanent high-power committee and they should meet at regular intervals. Non-bureaucrats should also head regulatory mechanism.

The last suggestion was that  SC/ST students should get access to more technical and professional courses.