Lagatar24 Desk
Chennai, May 13: Tamil Nadu’s higher education minister, Ponmudy, while addressing a convocation event at Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, said on Friday that English is more valuable than Hindi as a language, claiming those who speak Hindi are engaged in menial jobs.
He also implied that those who speak Hindi are selling panipuri in Coimbatore.
“…If the argument that learning Hindi could open more employment opportunities was true then why are those speaking the language selling ‘Paani Puri’ here?…”, said Tamil Nadu’s Higher Education Minister Dr K Ponmudy at Bharathiar University convocation.
He said that Tamil students were willing to learn any language and that Hindi should be optional and not compulsory.
While addressing students of Coimbatore’s Bharathiar University, Tamil Nadu higher education minister, Ponmudy, promised to implement beneficial aspects of the National Education Policy 2020, but claimed that the state government was determined to only implement a two-language system.
While sharing the platform with Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi at the convocation event, he questioned why anyone should learn Hindi when English, an international language, is being taught.
Ponmudy asserted that Tamil Nadu is at the forefront of India’s educational system, and that Tamil students are willing to learn any language. However, the minister believes that Hindi should be an optional language rather than a requirement. Ponmudy asserted that Hindi speakers are doing menial occupations, sarcastically stating that English is more useful than Hindi.
