Prospects and challenges of Tamil Nadu education policy

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin launched the Tamil Nadu State Education Policy – School Education on August 8, 2025 reaffirming the state's two-language policy of learning only Tamil and English and the long-standing demand towards restoration of education under the State List. Stalin termed it as "a vision document for the future" specific to the state's "distinctive character" to form an inclusive, fair, robust and future-proof school education system that enhances every child's potential, provides all-around development, maintains social justice and equips the kids with futuristic technical knowledge and values based on the state rich cultural heritage. The policy has been framed on the lines of the suggestions of the 14-member panel headed by Justice D Murugesan, ex-chief justice of the Delhi high court. The establishment of the committee was driven by the Tamil Nadu government in April 2022.

The basic challenge of "Basic Literacy and Numeracy" (BLN) with inclusive orientation to the Ennum Ezhuthum Mission (2022-2025) of TNSEP-School Education 2025 must be viewed in perspective of the overall situation of school education in the State and the prevailing ground realities as a comparative analysis of the vision and the reality.

The most elementary learning requirement of reading, writing, and arithmetic skills at the basic level must be taken seriously. The 2022 Annual Status of Education Research (ASER) report states that nearly 60% of the students at the country level study in Class V were unable to read a Class II level text and the 2023 report states that 25 per cent of the children in the age group of 14-18 years were unable to read a Class-II level text smoothly in their mother tongue/local language. This research also disclosed that 40% of the kids belonging to the same age group mentioned above were unable to read English sentences and the learning results for basic numeracy skills such as division and subtraction is also dismal.

The issue of teacher shortages is still unabated for more than a decade and half in Tamil Nadu and the policy must tackle this crisis at the stage of policy implementation in view of the existing situation of numerous state government schools operated with a single or two teachers and in the majority of situations with the assistance of casual contract staff.

One of the most important elements of the TNSEP–School Education 2025 is making the Tamil language compulsory in all school boards such as CBSE, ICSE and the State Board up to Class 10.

The government's choice to keep the board examinations for Classes 10 and 12 only, and not for Class 11 on the grounds that Class 11 can be transformed as a preparatory and bridging year with emphasis on enrichment of subject matter, skill acquisition, and preparatory readiness through on-going, competency-based internal assessment system in a stress-free environment is a policy of dual opportunities and challenges.

The government of Tamil Nadu must reconsider the "no-detention" policy for Classes 1-8 by keeping the "no-detention" policy from Class I to Class V and incorporating a just, open and inclusive assessment mechanism (examination system) for the Classes 6-8 in full consideration of the varied learning difficulties, skills, conditions and environment of children. All assessment techniques and models of examination are not punitive or penalizing as the policy indicates. The effective execution of the BLN plan and language education has an intrinsic relationship with teacher motivation, teaching pedagogy and on-going evaluation system. This also demands more extensive teacher training and ongoing teacher education/evaluation which is mostly missing under the present school education system.

The policy reaffirms the two-language policy of the state – Tamil and English – turning down the three – language formula recommended by the NEP-2020. The Tamil Nadu's two-language policy comes across as a possible study or model for some states that are eager to reconsider their three-language policy, particularly in Karnataka. It is as important to reinforce the language learning system of the state and correct imbalances/challenges in mother tongue education at the primary level and standardization of English language instruction and performance/assessment of Tamil and English as medium of instruction for science and social science subjects in the state-funded government schools for upper primary and middle levels.

The issues of admission, attendance and the dropping out of hill district and tribal area children are also directly linked to the dialectic/linguistic challenges rather than normally conceived ability to learn issues as assigned to tribal children in these regions. This involves motivation and appointment of teachers belonging to the local tribal population as special measures apart from recognizing the issue of teacher absentees in such places which is prevalent on account of lack of empathy, motivation and identification among the teachers who are posted from outside the local/tribal population. The differences in Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), dropout rates, learning achievements among Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority and tribal population must be met with special attention and area wise focus.

Tamil Nadu is the first state to officially adopt its own school education policy in the nation indicative of increasing movement in the nation for educational autonomy and raising questions about the future trajectory of National Education Policy-2020. While this action is regarded as political and pedagogical response(s) to the NEP-2020 but educationists and critics opine there are a number of pedagogical concerns and challenges like the NEP-2020. The education policy, being futuristic and technology oriented, should be reinforced by the Tamil Nadu government to a better extent by revising its present allocation of 13.7% of the total budget for education considering the state budget allocation of 30% towards education like that of the Government of Karnataka.

The spending(s) on education and Research & Development are, in reality, an investment for the future in addition to solving the issues of insufficiency of funds and shortages of money of some existing scientific and technological projects. The state ought to establish a more secure and corpus funding than subjecting the state education to the instability and weakness of private and corporate funding.