Protests broke out in Tamil Nadu on Saturday against the draft National Education Policy’s endorsement of the three-language formula for schools, prompting the Centre to try and allay the fears of an “imposition of Hindi”.

A clarification from the Centre stressed this was a “draft policy”, which would be finalised “after getting feedback from general public, and after consulting state governments”.

“There will be no imposition of any language in educational institutions, nor discrimination against any language,” it added.

Tamil Nadu has rejected the three-language formula, introduced in 1968, and its state board schools are required to teach only Tamil and English.

After the draft NEP, submitted on Friday, endorsed the three-language formula, DMK leader Kanimozhi, AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran and Congress veteran P. Chidambaram opposed the “imposition of Hindi”.

The three-language formula prescribes the teaching of Hindi, English and any other modern Indian language —from a list of 22 — in Classes VI to X. The draft NEP wants children “exposed to three or more languages” from pre-school.