Summary:
Chennai, Dec 4 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday defended its decision to introduce a compulsory paper on Tamil language in competitive exams and qualifying in it to become eligible for entry to state government services.
The Tamil proficiency contemplated by the government is only upto the level of Class 10 standard, Minister for Finance and Human Resources Management, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said.
The new norm does not expect a level of knowledge expected from a person who held a doctorate in the Tamil language, he added.
A score of mere 40 per cent is sufficient to clear the Tamil exam, he underscored.
Explaining the rationale behind the decision, the Minister said a job in the state government and allied services brought employees in direct touch with the local people every day for discharge of their duties.
Hence, if an aspirant does not have Tamil knowledge conforming to Class 10 standard and in case he or she could not even secure 40 marks and clear the Tamil paper, such a person would not be suitable for services under the Tamil Nadu government, he said.