Anbumani Ramadoss. File
| Photo Credit: S.R. Raghunathan
PMK president and Rajya Sabha MP Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday (August 8, 2026) alleged that Tamil Nadu’s allocation for education, as a proportion of its economic output, had declined to nearly one-third of its level 25 years ago, and questioned whether government schools were being deliberately weakened to benefit private institutions.
In a statement, he said the combined allocation for School Education and Higher Education had fallen from 3.92% of the State’s GSDP in 2000-01 to 1.30% in 2026-27.
While ₹4,949 crore was allocated for education in 2000-01, the allocation stood at ₹52,920 crore in 2026-27, against an estimated GSDP of ₹40.67 lakh crore, he said. He pointed out that had 3.92% of the State’s economic output been allocated to education this year, the sector would have received ₹1.59 lakh crore, instead of the current allocation.
Dr. Anbumani also linked the decline in funding to falling enrolment in government schools. Citing Central government data, he said enrolment in government schools fell from 75.52 lakh in 2015-16 to 43.03 lakh in 2025-26, while private school enrolment rose from 36.56 lakh to 62.03 lakh during the same period.
He urged the State government to increase education spending to at least 3% of the State’s economic output and ensure that government schools had at least one teacher for every class.
Published – August 09, 2026 03:37 pm IST
