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Tamil Nadu’s engine of progress - education for all
August 3 , 2025
17 hrs 0 min
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- There are many reasons for Tamil Nadu’s tremendous economic and social progress over the last century.
- If social justice is our ideology, then education is its most effective instrument to carry it forward.
- Education for all, not just those who can afford it or have the “merit” for it, is an equaliser and an enabler.
- It is the foundation upon which we continue to build an equitable Tamil society.
- In the year 1920, a school in Thousand Lights area under the then Municipal Corporation of Madras became the first in India to serve mid-day meals to its students.
- The initiative was approved by the then Madras Corporation Council and inspired by Justice Party leader P. Theagaraya Chetty.
- This idea has evolved into one of the largest and most effective school meal programmes in the world.
- It expanded up with the Breakfast Scheme which was launched in 2022 by this government.
- It is one of many reforms that illustrate how Tamil Nadu has used its education policy not just to improve learning outcomes, but to bring about equality in society.
- Tamil Nadu’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education stands at 47%, while the national average is 28.4%.
- Among women, Tamil Nadu’s GER is 47.3%, against the national figure of 28.5%.
- In the year 1921, the Justice Party passed the historic Government Order (GO), which came to be known as the Communal GO.
- It ensured access to education for children from all communities, particularly the marginalised.
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