Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi skipped the state government’s address to the Legislative Assembly on January 20, 2026 . He cited “poor standards” in education as the reason for not delivering the speech. The address outlined major education schemes and raised concerns over unreleased central funds.
Governor’s Stance
The Governor left the assembly without reading the prepared speech. The Lok Bhavan later stated Ravi cited 13 reasons for his refusal. These reasons included a “steady decline in educational standards” and “widespread mismanagement in educational institutions.” The statement also claimed nearly 50% of faculty positions remained vacant for years, leading to restive guest faculty members.
State’s Education Agenda
The state government’s address positioned education as a core welfare strategy. It detailed investments across school nutrition, learning recovery, infrastructure, and higher education access.
School Nutrition and Learning
The Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme currently benefits 19.34 lakh children in government and government-aided schools. The scheme, expanded to urban government-aided schools, has improved nutritional intake, attendance, and learning outcomes.
To address learning gaps, the government implemented Illam Thedi Kalvi, a volunteer-driven doorstep education program. Ennum Ezhuthum aims to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy for students in Classes 1 to 5. A reading campaign also promotes reading habits.
Infrastructure Upgrades
Under the Perasiriyar Anbazhagan School Improvement Scheme, government schools received upgrades to classrooms, laboratories, and IT facilities. Over the past five years, the state spent Rs 1,359 crore on 4,247 new school buildings. An additional Rs 678 crore was allocated for rejuvenation works in existing schools.
Further initiatives include establishing schools of excellence, introducing high-tech laboratories, smart classrooms, and vocational education reforms. The government also distributes tablets to teachers for classroom support.
Student Support and Scholarships
The Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Pudhumai Penn Scheme provides a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000 to girls. This scheme benefits girls who studied in government schools from Classes 6 to 9 and are now pursuing undergraduate degrees, diplomas, or vocational education. The scheme has improved enrollment and retention, contributing to Tamil Nadu’s high gross enrollment ratio.
The Pudhumai Penn and Thamizh Pudhalvan schemes together offer Rs 1,000 monthly assistance to students in higher education. The government has spent Rs 1,831 crore on these schemes, benefiting over 12 lakh students.
Professional and Higher Education Access
A 7.5% internal reservation ensures government school students access undergraduate professional courses. The state covers tuition fees, hostel expenses, and transport costs. Over the past five years, Rs 703 crore was allocated, benefiting 36,419 students.
The Perunthalaivar Kamarajar College Development Scheme supported infrastructure development in government engineering, arts, science, and polytechnic colleges. Rs 909 crore was spent over four years. The state also established 36 new arts and science colleges in the last five years.
The government is distributing laptops to 10 lakh students in arts, science, engineering, agriculture, and medical courses this academic year. This program involves an expenditure of Rs 2,172 crore .
Overseas Scholarships and Community Learning
The Annal Ambedkar Overseas Scholarship for Higher Education Scheme increased its scholarship amount to Rs 36 lakh per student. Since 2021, the government disbursed Rs 162 crore to 385 Adi Dravidar and Tribal students studying abroad. In comparison, only six students benefited from 2003 to 2021.
The address also announced 246 Village Knowledge Centres in Adi Dravidar habitations. These centres provide facilities for learning and skill development.
Funding and Language Policy
The Governor’s address highlighted delays in releasing central funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme. Rs 3,548 crore approved by the Project Approval Board remains unreleased. This compels the state government to cover full implementation costs.
The state reiterated its two-language policy. It opposed the three-language formula proposed in the National Education Policy. The address cited a unanimous 2022 Assembly resolution urging the union government not to implement the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language recommendations. It also opposed a recent UGC circular mandating a third language in higher education, viewing it as an indirect imposition of Hindi.
The “Tell Us Your Dream” initiative collects feedback from households statewide. This feedback helps shape welfare policies, including education, aligned with Tamil Nadu’s development goals for 2030 .