Tamil Nadu government schools could face closure if low student enrolment continues, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss said in a statement, citing reports that thousands of government primary schools have fewer than 30 students across the state.
According to the statement reported by Dinamalar, 14,829 government primary schools in Tamil Nadu have fewer than 30 students across all five primary classes. Of these, 6,635 schools reportedly have fewer than 20 students, while 3,027 have fewer than 10 students.
Anbumani said the situation was particularly serious in northern districts. Tiruvannamalai, Krishnagiri, Salem, Cuddalore and Tiruvallur together account for 3,062 government primary schools where fewer than 30 students are reportedly enrolled, according to the figures cited in his statement.
The concern is not limited to enrolment. Anbumani questioned whether schools with only one or two teachers can effectively teach students across all classes. In small primary schools, limited staffing can require teachers to handle multiple grades, potentially affecting classroom organisation and the delivery of lessons. The statement did not provide details of the current teacher deployment pattern in the schools mentioned.
Anbumani urged the Tamil Nadu government to appoint teachers in adequate numbers, improve school infrastructure and increase funding for the School Education Department. He said these measures were necessary to increase enrolment in government schools and prevent the institutions from reaching a point where closure becomes unavoidable.
The figures cited in the statement point to a wider administrative challenge for the public school system: maintaining neighbourhood schools when student numbers are distributed unevenly across locations. A school with a small enrolment may still serve children who depend on a nearby facility, particularly where travelling to another school is difficult. However, the supplied report does not state whether the government has identified any schools for closure, merger or relocation.
The statement also does not specify the period over which the enrolment figures were recorded, the criteria used to classify the schools or the government’s response to the allegations. Those details will be important in determining whether the reported numbers reflect a temporary fall in admissions or a longer-term pattern.
Anbumani’s intervention places teacher vacancies, infrastructure quality and school funding at the centre of the debate over government-school enrolment. The immediate next step is for the School Education Department to clarify the enrolment data, staffing position and policy for schools with fewer than 30 students.
