Classrooms for learning: CM Vijay bans political activities in Tamil Nadu schools

The Tamil Nadu government has issued a circular prohibiting political party cadres and private individuals from entering government school classrooms, stressing that educational institutions are meant for learning and not for political activities.

School Education Minister Raj Mohan issued the circular, which states that only elected representatives attending official government programmes will be permitted to enter schools and classrooms.

The circular emphasises that classrooms are spaces for education and should not be used for activities aimed at praising political leaders or individuals. "Schools are places for learning, not for heaping praises on anyone," the Joseph Vijay-led government said in the circular.

The order also bans the celebration of birthdays of political leaders inside classrooms and school premises, a move aimed at keeping educational spaces free from political influence.

According to the circular, any events conducted in government schools must adhere to the principles of neutrality and educational relevance. The government has indicated that a detailed set of guidelines on organising programmes and events in government schools will be issued shortly.

STATE OUTPERFORMS NATIONAL AVERAGE IN SCHOOL EDUCATION

The move comes as Tamil Nadu continues to project itself as one of the country's best-performing states in school education. Citing the latest data from the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), the School Education Department on Thursday said the state performs significantly better than the national average across key indicators, including student participation, retention, teacher availability, infrastructure and educational progression.

The department, in a statement, said Tamil Nadu has built a school education ecosystem that not only ensures access to education but also provides multiple high-quality pathways for students to continue their studies.

According to the UDISE report, Tamil Nadu educates nearly five per cent of the country's school-going children despite accounting for only 3.9 per cent of India's schools. The department said this reflects the state's ability to efficiently utilise educational infrastructure while maintaining educational access and teacher availability.

Tamil Nadu currently has 57,566 schools, 1.24 crore students and 5.69 lakh teachers. The state's overall Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) stands at 22, better than the national average of 24. On average, each school in Tamil Nadu has 215 students and 10 teachers, compared to the national average of 169 students per school.

The Gross Enrolment Ratios (GER) in the state stand at 92 per cent at the primary level, 95 per cent at upper primary, 97 per cent at secondary and 85 per cent at higher secondary level. These figures are significantly higher than the corresponding national averages of 89 per cent, 90 per cent, 82 per cent and 62 per cent.

Tamil Nadu has also recorded zero dropout rates at both the primary and upper primary levels. At the secondary stage, the dropout rate is 6.2 per cent, substantially lower than the national average of 9.5 per cent.

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