Page 18 - EW February 2026

Education News

are not mere degree holders, but also particularly in districts with
well versed in frontier technologies high migration or ageing
that will shape the growth of India in populations. Moreover a
the next three decades,” says a senior growing number of house-
official in the ministry of higher edu- holds, especially in peri-
cation. urban areas, are shifting
If implemented as planned, AP their children to low-cost
FIRST will be a turning point in the private schools that promise
history of Andhra Pradesh — turn- English-medium education.
ing the state into a reservoir of talent, Although Leftists and
ideas, innovation, and intellectual jholawallahs tend to down-
property. Similar to how Kerala has play the importance of infra-
long been considered a fully literate structure, most education-
state, and Karnataka a leader in the ists agree that infrastructure
field of IT, Andhra Pradesh now seems Poyyamozhi: U-turn deficits of government
to be making a claim to become India’s schools are an important
premier science and deep technology issue has acquired political urgency, cause of disenchantment.
state. as education is a key governance Tamil Nadu allocates a substantial
However on the downside, there’s indicator. Rs.45,000 crore annually for school
growing scepticism that Naidu pere During the academic year 2024- education, yet too many of TN gov-
et fils are acquiring a reputation for 25, 1,204 schools across Tamil Nadu ernment schools don’t provide basic
announcing grand projects, but are reported zero new admissions, infrastructure. An estimated 37,500
reticent about detailing their imple- including 208 government schools, schools lack functional playgrounds,
mentation progress. “Media access of 114 aided schools, 869 private and libraries, science laboratories, ad-
independent press to the chief minis- two Central government schools. equate classrooms and even toilets.
ter and education minister who call Most of these are small primary and Schools often operate with just two
all the shots in Andhra Pradesh, is middle schools sited in rural areas teachers including the headmaster
tightly controlled and limited. It’s all that are experiencing shrinking serving all classes, severely affecting
very well to announce grand projects, child populations due to falling birth teaching quality and student engage-
but information about their progress rate, migration to urban centres, ment.
and financial feasibility is scarce,” says and insistence on Tamil language Even rural parents accustomed
a media veteran, who preferred to re- primacy. Parents are voicing concern “to hard lives are reluctant to send
main anonymous because “the Naidus that young children are forced to a child to a school that doesn’t have
are not enamoured with independent travel longer distances, often without proper sanitation and toilet facili-
journalists”. reliable transport, to attend primary ties,” says Dr. S. Somasundaram,
Priyanka Edupuganti (Hyderabad) school. a Chennai-based educationist. “The
“Our investigations indicate that government must properly inves-
TAMIL NADU attendance is dropping in some rural tigate why enrolments are declin-
Schools closure areas not because children are un- ing in public schools. In this age of
television and internet connectivity,
willing to study, but because reach-
controversy ing the nearest school has become parents have become well aware that
difficult,” says a senior official in
infrastructure is not a luxury — it is
the school education department of
fundamental to learning,” he adds.
ince late last year, tamil the education ministry. “For a class The consequences of infra and
Nadu’s DMK government I or class II child, even an extra two teacher deficits are reflecting in
Shas been seriously rethinking kilometres can be a serious barrier, retention data. According to the
its decision to shut down a number especially in rural areas.” latest UDISE+ (Unified District
of government schools that have Demographic decline has un- Information System for Education
recorded zero enrolment, following doubtedly played a role in this crisis. Plus) data for 2024-25, Tamil Nadu’s
reports that closing them down is Government data indicates that primary school dropout rate rose to
impeding the access of a substantial Tamil Nadu’s annual birth rate has 2.7 percent, a sharp increase from
number of children to education, declined steadily from around 1 mil- nearly zero in previous years. Up-
especially in rural and peri-urban lion births in 2011 to below 900,000 per primary dropouts touched 2.8
areas. With the state assembly elec- by 2025-26. This has impacted percent, while secondary dropouts
tions scheduled this summer, the enrolment in government schools, climbed to 8.5 percent, up from 7.7

18 EDUCATIONWORLD FEBRUARY 2026