Tamil Nadu is seeing a sharp fall in enrolment in government schools, with 2,482 schools currently running with student strength in single digits, according to information cited by education officials.
The state has 31,343 government primary and middle schools with a total of 16,99,715 students. During the COVID-19 period, economic stress pushed many families to shift children from private schools to government schools, but officials say the trend has reversed after the pandemic.
To improve admissions, the government introduced measures such as a 7.5% reservation for government school students in medical and professional courses, and a scheme providing Rs 1,000 per month to students studying from Class 6 to Plus Two to support higher education. Despite these incentives, enrolment has continued to decline year after year.
In the current year, 255 schools—including 48 primary and middle schools—have already been closed due to zero students, and teachers from these schools have been transferred elsewhere. Officials noted that many single-digit schools function with only a headmaster or a single teacher, and warned that if admissions drop to zero in the coming years, more closures could follow.
District-wise, the highest number of single-digit schools was reported in Tiruppur (147), followed by Sivaganga (146), Ramanathapuram (139), Dindigul (131), Erode (128), Coimbatore (80) and Nilgiris (44). The School Education Department had earlier attributed closures to migration from villages to towns, and officials said steps are needed to improve school quality and prevent further shutdowns.
