🚨 WHEN RHETORIC CRASHES INTO REALITY
In politics, loud claims travel faster than quiet facts — until the numbers arrive. Actor-turned-politician Vijay’s assertion that the DMK government shut down over 200 government schools in the last five years may sound alarming, but official data from the tamil Nadu education Department tells a completely different story. Not a story of closures, but one of continuity, consolidation, and net growth. When rhetoric is tested against records, this claim doesn’t just weaken — it collapses outright.
1️⃣ OFFICIAL DATA VS POLITICAL DRAMA — AND DATA WINS
According to UDISE+ (Unified district Information System for education Plus) — the government of India’s own official school database — the number of government schools in tamil Nadu has not decreased, but increased during the DMK tenure. In 2019–20, tamil Nadu had 37,579 government schools. By 2023–24, that number had risen to 37,672. That’s a net increase of 93 schools, not a reduction — let alone a mass shutdown.
2️⃣ YEAR-BY-YEAR NUMBERS THAT SHRED THE CLAIM
The trend is not accidental or selective. It’s consistent and documented:
2019–20: 37,579 schools
2020–21: 37,589 schools
2021–22: 37,636 schools
2022–23: 37,658 schools
2023–24: 37,672 schools
There is no year here that supports the narrative of widespread closures. Every year shows stability or growth. Claims of “200+ schools shut” don’t just lack evidence — they actively contradict it.
3️⃣ THE REAL DIP HAPPENED EARLIER — AND IT WASN’T UNDER DMK
Zoom out further, and the pattern becomes even clearer. tamil Nadu had its highest number of government schools in 2016–17 (38,307). The subsequent decline occurred during the AIADMK regime, particularly under Edappadi K. Palaniswami. From 2020–21 onwards, the curve reverses, with school numbers steadily rising again. If anyone wants to talk about closures, the timeline needs to be honest.
4️⃣ “SCHOOL CLOSURE” IS BEING DELIBERATELY MISREPRESENTED
Not every “closure” is a shutdown. Schools with zero enrolment — sometimes having no students for several consecutive years — are occasionally merged with nearby schools. This has been a long-standing administrative practice across governments. Calling this a mass closure is not just misleading; it’s intellectually dishonest.
5️⃣ UPGRADATION ≠ ELIMINATION — BASIC LOGIC MISSED
When a primary school is upgraded to a middle school, or a high school to a higher secondary school, the classification changes. On paper, one category might show a reduction — but the school hasn’t vanished. It has improved. Confusing administrative restructuring with shutdowns is either incompetence or convenience.
6️⃣ STUDENT ENROLMENT TELLS THE REAL STORY
If government schools were truly being dismantled, enrolment would collapse. Instead, the opposite has happened. In the 2025–26 academic year, around 4.07 lakh students newly enrolled in tamil Nadu government schools — up sharply from 3.2 lakh the previous year. parents vote with their feet, and this surge reflects renewed trust in government education.
7️⃣ NEW SCHOOLS ARE OPENING WHERE THEY’RE NEEDED MOST
Far from retreating, the state has expanded access in hill regions, remote villages, and newly developed residential areas. Recently, 13 new government schools were opened in underserved locations. Some zero-enrolment schools may close, but new ones open where students actually live — resulting in a net gain.
8️⃣ INFRASTRUCTURE, WELFARE, AND QUALITY — NOT JUST COUNTING BUILDINGS
The focus today isn’t just numbers, but quality. Initiatives like the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme, 7.5% medical reservation for government school students, smart classrooms, and upgraded infrastructure have transformed many government schools into preferred institutions. This is why enrolment is rising — something no amount of political noise can erase.
⚠️ FINAL VERDICT: FACTS DON’T CARE ABOUT FICTION
This isn’t a debate of opinions. It’s a matter of verifiable government data. The claim that over 200 government schools were shut under the DMK government is demonstrably false. When facts are this clear, repeating fiction isn’t opposition politics — it’s misinformation.
Someone really should sit Vijay down, hand him the UDISE+ data, and explain it slowly. Whether facts can penetrate fiction-driven politics, though, remains the only unanswered question.
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