Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik

Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik has redflagged the "mad rush" to study in English-medium schools. Talking to mediapersons here on Wednesday Naik said that such a rush exposes the hypocrisy of those people who claim they respect Indian culture yet send their sons and daughters to English-medium schools. He cited Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray as an instance, who sent his son Amit to an Englishmedium school.

"Take for example the case of Raj Thackeray. He claims that he is a champion of Marathi. But his son has studied in a convent school," Naik said here at a press conference. Governor Naik was replying to a question on his recent statement that English must be kept away from primary and secondary education.

Interestingly, Naik, who hails from Mumbai, had won many parliamentary elections in the past with the direct or indirect support of Thackeray. "There is a mad rush for English education. But it creates a problem for the uneducated parents. They cannot clear the doubts of their children if they are studying in English medium.

Moreover, the kind of rubbish English in which we see students exchanging messages is deplorable. They are so poor in grammar. Mother tongue is best for initial schooling. This is why I am saying that education up to class eight should be in the mother tongue of the students," the governor explained.

Naik said he and his two daughters had studied in Marathi medium in primary schools and they all were doing well in life.

Naik had called the press conference on the occasion of completion of his six months as governor of Uttar Pradesh. At the press conference Naik also targeted Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and informed the media that he was holding back the UP Medical University-Greater Noida Bill. "I have kept this Bill because of three reasons. Firstly, it was tabled on February 26, 2014. Since then three sessions of the Assembly were held. But the Bill was not cleared. The second thing is that the CM would be its chancellor, which is against the convention. Lastly, no approval was taken from me for the finance Bill in connection with this university. This is why I have withheld it", he said.

The governor said he has also withheld an ordinance of the state government which was about according the status of a minister to the chairman of UP Minority Commission. "What will happen to the heads of other commissions if we accord the status of minister to the chairman of Minority Commission only? Even the central government doesn't have any such provision. I have sought a reply from the chief minister. But he is yet to respond," he said.



