Dravida Munetra Kazhagam on Sunday appointed a nine-member team to review the draft National Education Policy, saying that it was necessary in the wake of the central government’s serious attempts to impose Hindi, PTI reported. Party chief MK Stalin said allocation of funds in the Budget to appoint Hindi teachers in non-Hindi speaking states contradicted clauses in the revised draft education policy that had been issued in June.

“DMK is willing to seek opinions from experts in education on the draft National Education Policy, which is posing a threat to classical language Tamil,” the news agency quoted from Stalin’s statement. The nine-member team, including former Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi and former School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu, has been asked to file a report within 10 days. The DMK will submit the report to the Union Ministry of Human Resources and Development.

In June, the Centre modified its draft National Education Policy due to protests against the emphasis on Hindi. A panel of experts led by former Indian Space Research Organisation chief Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan had initially recommended that students in non-Hindi speaking states learn a regional language, Hindi and English, while students in Hindi-speaking states learn Hindi, English and a modern Indian language from other parts of the country.

The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu had raised objections. Later, the decision to revise the draft was welcomed from all quarters.