Amidst the verbal war over alleged Hindi imposition being vehemently pushed forward by the DMK government led by CM MK Stalin, the ground reality is entirely different concerning enrolment in Tamil medium schools run by the state government.
Last week, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Education Minister, informed members of the Rajya Sabha that the student enrolment in Tamil medium schools declined from 65.87 lakh in 2018-2019 to 46.82 lakh in 2023-24. Meanwhile, English-medium enrolments in government and government-aided schools increased from 55.18 lakh in 2018-19 to 82 lakh in 2023-24.
According to available data, the number of students in Tamil medium schools in Tamil Nadu has decreased sharply, whereas enrolment in English medium government schools has risen significantly. This trend is visible even in rural areas, which were earlier dominated by urban, tier-two, and tier-one cities or metropolitan regions.
A retired headmaster of a private school, Natarajan R, said, “South Indians perceive education as a means of livelihood and a social status symbol. They prefer English medium over Tamil medium for better employment opportunities and higher salaries. Secondly, their generation may not have had the means to study in English medium schools. Thirdly, they feel learning only an Indian language may not be sufficient to excel in the highly competitive, cut-throat world. Therefore, they might have switched from Tamil medium to English medium. These days, everything is about making money, and people believe learning in English will provide better opportunities.”
Officials from the Tamil Nadu School Education Department point out that this shift from Tamil-medium to English-medium schools began during the previous AIADMK regime.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s Education Minister, Anbil Mahesh, has strongly defended the state’s opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, telling the Centre, “Don’t fix what isn’t broken.” He claimed that Tamil Nadu’s education system has been “tried, tested, and proven successful over decades” and does not require the “one-size-fits-all” approach of NEP.
The minister stated, “Our State Board education system has consistently produced some of the best results in higher education and employment. The focus on concept-based learning rather than rote memorisation has empowered generations of students to excel in professional fields within India and abroad.”
Sharply reacting to Anbil Mahesh, Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai posted on X: “The Education Minister of Tamil Nadu quoted a few points, but here’s where he is wrong:
A unit constituted by the DMK government to hide its fallacies stated in February 2025 that there are 1,835 CBSE schools in Tamil Nadu. Today, the Education Minister has reduced this number to 1,635 CBSE schools.
He claimed that 1.09 crore students pursue education in state board schools in Tamil Nadu. However, according to policy notes published by the State Education Department in 2023-24, 56 lakh students are studying in private schools (CBSE, ICSE, IB, Matriculation, and State Board), while 53 lakh students are studying in government schools (State Board) in Tamil Nadu.
Matriculation schools have a unique curriculum until Class 10 and only follow the Tamil Nadu State Board Curriculum in Classes 11 and 12.
In his statement, the Education Minister conveniently included matriculation schools under the State Board. There are 4,498 matriculation schools in Tamil Nadu, with over 30 lakh students. These private matriculation schools allow students to learn a third language until Class 8.”
He further added: “Hence, 15.2 lakh CBSE students and a total of 45 lakh students, including matriculation students, are given the opportunity to learn three languages. This means 50% of students in Tamil Nadu have access to learning three languages, while the other 50% are restricted to learning only two languages. Why this hypocrisy?
In matriculation schools run by the DMK, Tamil is not a compulsory language but merely an optional one. Why this double standard? If the Tamil Nadu State Board education system has been ‘tried, tested, and proven successful over decades,’ why are the wards of DMK MLAs and MPs studying in private schools?
DMK must understand and rise above politics. This is not the 1960s. With changing times, our policies must also evolve. You cannot have one set of rules for your family and another for the underprivileged. We will continue to expose your hypocrisy. Equal education is our right!”
The Education Minister of TN quoted a few points, but here’s where he is wrong.
– A unit constituted by the DMK govt to hide its fallacies said in February 2025 that there are 1835 CBSE schools in Tamil Nadu. Today, the Education Minister has reduced it to 1635 CBSE schools.… https://t.co/HucTSoulIS
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) March 12, 2025
Former Anna University Vice-Chancellor E Balaguruswamy and others state, “NEP does not impose Hindi at any stage. It only recommends learning any Indian language listed in the Constitution as a third language in schools, while Tamil or the mother tongue remains compulsory.” They argue that “students should learn as many languages as possible, as the world is expanding in terms of mobility. However, it should not be mandatory.”
Under the DMK regime in Tamil Nadu, thousands of students failed public examinations, which is a testament to how Tamil medium education has fared under their rule. In Tamil Nadu, one can become a graduate or even earn a doctorate without learning Tamil.
The state has 49 Telugu, 24 Urdu, 12 Hindi, 4 Malayalam, 4 Gujarati, and one Sanskrit medium school. Of these, five Urdu schools are run by the government. According to an RTI query, it was revealed that in nearly 54 government schools, Tamil is not the medium of instruction.
The two-language policy effectively denies poor students studying in government schools the opportunity to learn additional languages while benefiting CBSE schools, which rake in crores annually. Meanwhile, the number of students passing out from Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha is increasing year after year. The great irony is that the state education minister himself is studying French, not Tamil.
தம்பி யாருன்னா தமிழக பள்ளி கல்வி துறை அமைச்சர் அன்பில் மகேஷ் மவன் படிச்சது எல்லாம் கான்வென்ட் ஏன் என்றால் திராவிட மாடல் கல்வி மேல அந்த ஆளுக்கே நம்பிக்கை இல்லை இவர் தான் ஏழை மாணவர்கள் என்ன படிக்கணும்னு சொல்லுவாராம் என்ன ஒரு அயோக்கியதனம் pic.twitter.com/yKyNSpjt2f
— sathishrajabjp (@SathishRaja_BJP) February 16, 2025
Schools run by prominent leaders, including Stalin’s daughter, Durai Murugan, and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan, follow the CBSE pattern and offer instruction in Hindi, Sanskrit, French, German, and other languages. Similarly, actor Vijay’s son Sanjay studied in an American school.
SS Iyengar, political analyst, stated on X: “It’s not about studying in a government school; it’s about practising what one preaches. If @arivalayam insists on a two-language policy for the people of Tamil Nadu, then why don’t they enrol their own children in state syllabus private schools that follow the same policy, instead of CBSE schools? The hypocrisy is glaring. The ‘D stocks’ world is truly unique.”
It’s not the question of studying in Govt school, it’s practising what one preaches. If @arivalayam preaches 2 language for TN public, if not govt school, why can’t they put their kids in State syllabus private schools with 2 languages than CBSE. D stocks world is unique https://t.co/YHcyFjZvhh
— SS Iyengar 🇮🇳 (@Isriramseshadri) March 19, 2025
Tamil Nadu has 12,631 private schools with nearly 56,90,000 students, while there are 37,387 government and aided schools with 52,62,000 students.
The quality of education—whether in the mother tongue Tamil or English—requires significant improvement, according to the latest ASER study, which states that eighth-standard students in Tamil Nadu struggle to read and comprehend second-standard lessons. The DMK is attempting to play on the ethnic and emotional sentiments of the local populace.
