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New Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Opposition slams Puducherry government over NEP rollout, school staff shortage in UT
PUDUCHERRY: Leader of the Opposition R Siva on Saturday lashed out at the BJP-led coalition government in Puducherry, accusing it of neglecting the education sector and pushing ahead with the National Education Policy (NEP) without accounting for local needs. In a statement, Siva criticised the deployment of a single teacher to two different schools in the same week, claiming it compromised the quality of education. He condemned the reduction of teaching staff based on student strength, terming it a violation of the one-teacher-per-class norm. He added that assigning one teacher to both LKG and UKG classes hampered early childhood learning. Raising concerns over the CBSE board examination papers for Classes 10 and 12 being issued only in English and Hindi, Siva said it put immense pressure on students unfamiliar with those languages. He demanded bilingual question papers incorporating regional languages from the current academic year. Siva also opposed the policy of failing students in Classes 5 and 8, arguing it dented self-confidence and increased dropout rates. He urged the administration to follow Tamil Nadu's model of promoting students up to Class 9 and to revert to a locally relevant state syllabus.
New Indian Express
27-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
DMK's R Siva slams Puducherry CM over handling of women's aid scheme, urges Centre's support
PUDUCHERRY: DMK State Organiser and Leader of the Opposition R Siva on Thursday strongly criticised Chief Minister N Rangasamy for the manner in which the Rs 2,500 monthly financial assistance scheme for women is being handled, and urged the government to seek support from the union government instead of burdening the public through increased taxation. In a press statement, Siva alleged that the announcement of the scheme was made solely with an eye on securing votes in the 2026 Assembly elections, likening it to similar political tactics seen in Delhi. He claimed that the CM had assumed financial backing would be extended by the BJP-led centre as part of a strategy to bring the AINRC under BJP control. 'However, the BJP has distanced itself from the scheme and has not released any funds. This has left the Rangasamy-led government scrambling for resources,' Siva said, adding that the BJP was deliberately withholding financial support to damage the image of the chief minister. He further accused BJP ministers, MLAs and local leaders of remaining silent on the issue. He also charged the BJP with indulging in 'divisive politics' that exploit differences in caste, language, and ethnicity to consolidate power. Turning his criticism towards the territorial government, the DMK leader condemned the recent hike in taxes, including the increase in liquor tax and the steep rise in Guideline Land Register (GLR) values. These measures, he said, were being used to mobilise funds to meet poll-time promises. 'The public is bearing the brunt of these decisions, without any sense of fairness or justice,' he added. Siva demanded transparency in implementing financial welfare measures, including the proposed Rs 500 hike in assistance for senior citizens, widows, and persons with disabilities. He called for the matter to be discussed on the floor of the Assembly and urged the government to convene an all-party meeting to seek the views of elected representatives before proceeding with major financial decisions. He accused Rangasamy of bypassing democratic processes in order to push through politically motivated schemes without due consultation.
New Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
DMK urges Puducherry govt to enforce bilingual policy; scrap exams for classes 3, 5, 8
PUDUCHERRY: The DMK has urged the AINRC-BJP government of Puducherry to strictly enforce the bilingual policy in education, emphasising the need to protect linguistic equality and regional identity. A resolution to this effect was adopted during the party's executive committee meeting held on Tuesday. According to a statement from DMK state convenor R Siva, the opposition leader in the Legislative Assembly, the party opposed the introduction of public exams for students of grades 3, 5, and 8 in alignment with the New Education Policy, citing concerns over student stress while requesting the government to assure that it will not conduct public examinations for students in grades three, five, and eight. This meeting urges the government to take steps to ensure that 50% of seats in all private medical colleges are filled under the government quota by the end of the current academic year.
New Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Puducherry LoP slams CM for skipping NITI Aayog meeting
PUDUCHERRY: Leader of the Opposition in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly, R Siva, has lashed out at Chief Minister N Rangasamy for failing to attend the recent NITI Aayog meeting, one of the few avenues available for smaller regions like Puducherry to highlight their demands and secure much-needed support from the central government. He expressed dismay over the Chief Minister's absence, especially when key issues such as the drastic reduction in Puducherry's share of Union funds - from 70 per cent to just 25 per cent - needed urgent attention. He compared Rangasamy's decision with that of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who, despite political differences with the centre, participated in the meeting with the hope of securing benefits for his state. Siva noted that the Chief Minister missed an opportunity to personally raise several longstanding issues with the Prime Minister, including the delay in releasing Puducherry's GST dues, the lack of support for critical infrastructure projects like the new Legislative Assembly building and the Smart City initiative, and the continued closure of the three spinning mills which were once a lifeline for local employment. He also pointed out the absence of a 25 percent internal quota for Puducherry students in central institutions such as JIPMER and Puducherry Central University, as well as the Union government's pressure on the Puducherry administration to fully fund centrally-sponsored schemes despite limited financial capacity. He further stressed that the Chief Minister should have used the platform to seek a waiver or sharing of interest on Puducherry's long-term debt of Rs 11,500 crore. Siva added that this meeting could have been the right moment for the Chief Minister to reiterate his party's long-standing demand for statehood, a matter which has seen repeated resolutions in the Assembly.
New Indian Express
04-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
LoP R Siva condemns Puducherry government's move to implement public exams for classes 3, 5, and 8
PUDUCHERRY: Leader of the Opposition R Siva has strongly condemned the Puducherry government's move to implement compulsory public examinations for students of classes 3, 5, and 8, calling it the "greatest injustice" done to schoolchildren. Siva said that the school education department has sent a circular stating that public exams will be conducted in classes 3, 5 and 8 from this year. He warned that compulsory exams in lower classes would disproportionately affect students from economically weaker sections, potentially forcing many to drop out and take up manual labour, thus deepening existing educational inequalities. He accused the BJP-NR Congress alliance government of succumbing to pressure from the centre and pushing the National Education Policy (NEP) without considering the local context or the welfare of government school students. He alleged that the NEP, along with the CBSE and trilingual policies, were being forced upon Puducherry in alignment with the RSS ideology, thereby undermining the state's earlier balanced and bilingual education policy. Citing last year's performance of government schools after the introduction of CBSE for all classes, Siva pointed out that a very high percentage of students in classes 9 and 11 failed, largely due to untrained teachers unfamiliar with the English medium. "More than 90% of government school teachers are from a Tamil medium background. Expecting them to suddenly teach in English without adequate training is unrealistic and unfair to students," he noted. 'While Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister MK Stalin has firmly opposed the NEP, the Puducherry Chief Minister has gone along with it. Is this the legacy of Kamaraj, who revolutionised education? Or is this government determined to push underprivileged students into a cycle of poverty and illiteracy?' Siva questioned. He urged the Puducherry government to reconsider the decision and called for a united struggle against what he termed an "assault on social justice and educational equity." He also warned that the DMK would mobilise public opposition if the policy was not reversed. "Education is a right, not a privilege. We will not allow it to become a tool of exclusion," he said.
