Tamil Nadu is one of the most literate states in India. The state's literacy rate is 80.33% in 2011, which is above the national average. A survey conducted by the Industry body Assocham ranks Tamil Nadu top among Indian states with about 100% Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in primary and upper primary education.
The structure of education in the state is based on the national level pattern with 12 years of schooling (10+2+3), consisting of eight years of elementary education, that is, five years of primary and three years of middle school education for the age groups of 6-11 and 11–14 years, respectively, followed by secondary and higher Secondary education of two years each besides two years of pre-primary education. The entry age in class 1 is 5+. Pre-primary classes form age group 3 to 4. The higher secondary school certificate enables pupils to pursue studies either in universities or in colleges for higher education in general academic streams and in technical and professional courses.
Education in Tamil Nadu has been a challenge of access and relevancy. The state ranks 12th for literacy for men and 13th in literacy for women.[1] These statistics appear satisfactory, the dropout rate of 21% is still of concern, although less than the national average.[1] The dropout rates for children aged 5–18 are higher for girls (35.3%) than boys (26.7%).[2] Rural students endure hardship in accessing education. For instance, in the towns of Dharmapuriand Arco, students often may need to walk anywhere from “3-6 km to reach a middle or highschool”.[1] The disparaging statistics also cut along religion and caste. Notably, Christian children are less likely to drop out of school from ages 5–18, than Hindu children that are backwards and scheduled castes.[3] In order to understand the cause for these disparities, one must explore the history of education in the state.
In pre-colonial times, Brahmin children (of both genders) were taught "elementary education" by a tutor at home inside the agraharam.[4] A watercolor painting called "Hindu school at Poona" depicts children studying.[5] As seen in the picture, the school is confined within the agraharam and there are children of both genders.[5] Children of other castes, sometimes, went to “government elementary schools in nearby villages”.[4] People who were not Brahmin weren’t allowed inside the agraharam.[4] This level of caste separation continued into colonial times. Educated people like scholar, teachers, and bureaucrats were Brahmins.[6] Specifically, men who were Brahmin were more likely to be “literate in vernacular languages and sometimes Sanskrit”.[6] Eventually the shift from wanting an eastern education to an English education happened in the Maratha Kingdom of Tanjore.[6] At the turn of the 19th century, the Maratha Deshastha and Telugu Niyogis were far more prominent than the Tamil Brahmins.[7] The Deshatha’s were a “strong, tight knit group” and had “long experience with administration”.[7] This group would eventually decline and in their space the Tamil Brahmin’s would take over. The first sign of this change was when the Maratha’s added English to their education.[7] Another sign was the grand opening of Madras High School in 1841.[8] This school was one of “the first attempts to disseminate Western education in South India”.[8] Schools like these allowed the Tamil Brahmins to rise from “lowly positions” to “Madras government service” and “deputy collector” and eventually become “the core of a new administrative elite”.[8] The Tamil Brahmins mostly went into sectors of medicine and engineering.[9] Although, engineering prospects were low because the Public Works Department was hesitant about employing Indians.[10]
After independence, there were efforts made to make education access more available to people of lower classes. The Madras state government created a 25% quota for “college places and government jobs”.[11] This allowed people of Other Backwards Classes (OBC) to get more seats.[11] In 1980, the quota increased to 50% which had a special note about 18% of that 50% should be for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.[11] Although, this system of quotas was not perfect as it resulted in “lower-middle-class Brahmins…without good education qualifications” from getting secure government jobs.[11] In private colleges, these brahmins usually have to pay “high capitation fees’” in order to get a seat.[12] The gender gap in education however was not as easy of a solution. Women’s marriage prospects were regarded as more important than their education until “the end of the twentieth century”.[13] In the 20th century, even “Brahmin girlswere rarely educated beyond primary school”.[13] The push for women’s education coincided with marriage prospects as more educated men wanted wives who were educated.[13] This allowed for women to start going to secondary school, college, and higher education.
One of the biggest populations that suffered and are still suffering from accessibility of education is the rural population in Tamil Nadu. Most of Tamil Nadu’s population (60%) survives on “low-productivity agriculture”.[14] The wages from this type of work can be “very low”, which affects the quality of education that children who belong to agricultural families can acquire.[15] One solution to this problem was the Noon Meal Programme. This program was implemented in “rural areas of Tamil Nadu” in June 1982.[16] This allowed students to get a “daily freenutritious meal of 400-odd calories”.[16] The program was first given to children ages 2–10 years.[16] It was extended to all “pre-primary and elementary schools in Tamil Nadu”.[16] Not only did this program give an incentive for rural families to send their children to school, it reduced the dropout rates by 90% in July 1982.[17] It also “increased enrollment in primary schools” by 70%.[17]
Enrollment
There were a total of 12,855,485 children enrolled across the state as of 2010, with 9,797,264 students in primary, 1,873,989 in secondary and 1,184,232 in higher secondary classrooms.
Tamil & English are common medium languages. Most private schools' medium of instruction is English, while the schools run by the Government are primarily Tamil medium.
Peculiar Cases:
The Kendriya Vidyalaya's run by the Union Government of India[19] have a dual medium of instruction: English and Hindi.
Accreditation
All recognized schools belong to one of the following accreditation systems:
The Minister of Education, who is a member of the state legislature, is in overall charge of education in the state. The following Directorates implement those education aspects which are under the control of the School Education Department.
^ abcR. Aruna, "'Learn Thoroughly': Primary Schooling in Tamil Nadu," Economic and Political Weekly 34, no. 18(1999), 1011
^Ron Ayres and Manuela Torrijos Simon, "Education, Poverty and Sustainable Livelihoods in Tamil Nadu:Inequalities, opportunities and constraints," Review of Political Economy 15, no. 2 (2003): 219, doi:10.1080/0953825032000064896
^Ron Ayres and Manuela Torrijos Simon, "Education, Poverty and Sustainable Livelihoods in Tamil Nadu:Inequalities, opportunities and constraints," Review of Political Economy 15, no. 2 (2003): 217, doi:10.1080/0953825032000064896
^ abcC. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2014), 36, accessed November 7, 2023, ProQuest Ebook Central.
^ abcC. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2014), 61, accessed November 7, 2023, ProQuest Ebook Central.
^ abcC. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2014), 62, accessed November 7, 2023, ProQuest Ebook Central.
^ abcC. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2014), 63, accessed November 7, 2023, ProQuest Ebook Central.
^C. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2014), 68, accessed November 7, 2023, ProQuest Ebook Central.
^C. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2014), 69, accessed November 7, 2023, ProQuest Ebook Central.
^ abcdC. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2014), 90, accessed November 7, 2023, ProQuest Ebook Central.
^C. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2014), 91, accessed November 7, 2023, ProQuest Ebook Central.
^ abcC. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2014), 92, accessed November 7, 2023, ProQuest Ebook Central.
^Ron Ayres and Manuela Torrijos Simon, "Education, Poverty and Sustainable Livelihoods in Tamil Nadu:Inequalities, opportunities and constraints," Review of Political Economy 15, no. 2 (2003): 214, doi:10.1080/0953825032000064896
^Ron Ayres and Manuela Torrijos Simon, "Education, Poverty and Sustainable Livelihoods in Tamil Nadu:Inequalities, opportunities and constraints," Review of Political Economy 15, no. 2 (2003): 215, doi:10.1080/0953825032000064896
^ abcdRajan, S. Irudaya, and A. Jayakumar. “Impact of Noon Meal Programme on Primary Education: An ExploratoryStudy in Tamil Nadu.” Economic and Political Weekly 27, no. 43/44 (1992): 2372.JSTOR4399067.
^ abRajan, S. Irudaya, and A. Jayakumar. “Impact of Noon Meal Programme on Primary Education: An ExploratoryStudy in Tamil Nadu.” Economic and Political Weekly 27, no. 43/44 (1992): 2375.JSTOR4399067.
