3-language policy row: BJP chief Annamalai debunks TN minister Poyyamozhi’s claims

CHENNAI/MADURAI: In a rebuttal, BJP state president K Annamalai on Wednesday contradicted the assertions made by School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh, alleging that a significant proportion of students in the state are being denied the opportunity to learn a third language.

Annamalai contended that a staggering 50% of students in Tamil Nadu are afforded the chance to acquire proficiency in three languages, while the remaining 50% are constrained to learn only two languages.

Annamalai pointed out that the Minister's figures were at odds with those presented by a state government-constituted unit in February 2025, which put the number of CBSE schools in Tamil Nadu at 1835.

The former IPS officer also cited data from the state education department's policy notes for 2023-24, which revealed that 56 lakh students are enrolled in private schools, including those affiliated to the CBSE, ICSE, and IB, as well as matriculation and state board schools.

"An additional 53 lakh students are studying in government schools affiliated to the state board, " he noted.

Annamalai also trained his guns on the Minister's decision to subsume matriculation schools under the state board category.

He observed that matriculation schools in Tamil Nadu follow a distinct curriculum up to Class 10, switching to the state board curriculum only in Classes 11 and 12.

"This enables students in these schools to learn a third language up to Class 8.

With 4,498 matriculation schools in Tamil Nadu catering to over 30 lakh students, it is estimated that 15.2 lakh CBSE students and a total of 45 lakh students, including those in matriculation schools, are availed of the opportunity to learn three languages. This underscores the glaring disparity in language education opportunities for students in the state, " he observed.