RS Rajakannappan and Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi are the current education ministers of Tamil Nadu who lead the Ministry of Higher Education and School Education, respectively, in Tamil Nadu.
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RS Rajakannappan, minister of Higher Education & Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, minister of School Education are the education ministers of Tamil Nadu.
The free education system introduced by the Education Minister of Tamil Nadu has increased the percentage of enrollment in primary and secondary schools.
Also, the introduction of the Nutritious Noon Meal Scheme and a free supply of books, free bus passes, etc by the Chief Minister showed more encouragement to students for primary education and easy accessibility of schools.
About RS Rajakannappan & Anbil Mahesh
As mentioned earlier, RS Rajakannappan is the current Minister of Higher Education, including Technical Education, Electronics, Science, and Technology. And Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi is the minister of school education.
Below are the educational divisions and education ministers of Tamil Nadu.
| Education Ministry | Education Minister of Tamil Nadu |
| Minister for School Education | Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi |
| Minister for Higher Education | RS Rajakannappan |
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Minister of School Education
Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi is an Indian politician and current minister of school education in Tamil Nadu. He started his political career as a party worker in the year 2000 and actively took part in various party activities and was appointed as the Youth Wing Secretary in 2014.
He was elected as a Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from Thiruverumbur constituency in 2016. He was again elected as MLA in May, 2021 from Thiruverumbur constituency consecutively and appointed as the School Education Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Education Minister of Tamil Nadu contact details are,
- Contact Number: 044-25672574
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Minister for Higher Education
RS Rajakannappan is the current Higher Education Minister of Tamil Nadu. With a bachelor's degree in law, a master's degree in history, political science and public Administration and a doctorate in political science, he is an alumnus of Annamalai University.
Before entering professional politics, he was a professor in the Villupuram government college. About his political career he has been elected to the Tamil Nadu assembly five times.
From 1989 to 1991 during Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam rule he was the Minister for Health, and from 1996 to 2001 he was Minister for Transport and Highways.
Apart from his political career RS Rajakannappan has also authored a book titled Dravidian Movement in India and Black Movement in the U.S.A.
Education Minister of Tamil Nadu contact details are,
- Contact Number: 044-25671142
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List of Higher Education Ministers of Tamil Nadu
The Education Minister of Tamil Nadu has had many faces and names since 1980. Check the list of higher education ministers of Tamil Nadu in the table given below
| Name | Terms of Office |
| C. Aranganayagam | 9 Jun, 1980 - 9 Feb, 1985 |
| C. Ponnaiyan | 10 Feb, 1985 - 30 Jan, 1988 |
| K. Anbazhagan | 27 Jan, 1989 - 30 Jan, 1991 |
| R. M. Veerappan | 24 Jun, 1991 - 12 May, 1996 |
| K. Anbazhagan | 13 May, 1996 - 13 May, 2001 |
| M. Thambidurai | 14 May, 2001 - 1 Mar,2002 |
| C. V. Shanmugam | 2 Mar, 2002 - 12 May, 2006 |
| K. Ponmudy | 13 May, 2006 - 15 May, 2011 |
| P. Palaniappan | 16 May, 2011 - 22 May, 2016 |
| K. P. Anbalagan | 23 May, 2016 - 6 May, 2021 |
| K. Ponmudy | 7 May, 2021 - Dec 23, 2023 |
| RS Rajakannappan | Dec 23, 2023 - Incumbent |
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Objectives Set by the Education Minister
The following points are the eight significant objectives set by the Education Minister of Tamil Nadu for the betterment of academics:
- The primary objective is to universalize education by providing quality education by providing necessary infrastructure and students safety and security.
- To strive for the overall development of the child.
- To build the child's knowledge, potential talent, and developmental abilities to the fullest extent.
- To provide the basic infrastructure to assure comfort in school.
- To provide a positive learning environment to encourage students to discover and explore skills.
- To provide quality education to the child.
- To provide sufficient opportunities for the child to expel fear.
- To lessen the stress caused by terminal examinations, the Tamil Nadu board has decided to make tests more flexible and implement continuous and comprehensive evaluations.
The Education Minister sets various goals to improve the educational system, whether to provide basic infrastructure or a positive learning environment.
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Education Schemes by the Government of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu School Education Minister's new class 10 and 12 schemes provide free NEET coaching to interested students. The state government arranges for food and lodging to coach government school students for the NEET UG exam.
The Tamil Nadu government also takes various measures like providing online facilities for students with free study materials. Most importantly, the faculty are trained for two weeks concerning competitive exam coaching.
All these drastic measures and actions at the right time lead to the quality of education in Tamil Nadu. The most beneficial schemes introduced by the Tamil Nadu government in school education are:
- Computer Education
- Early Childhood Care and Education
- Girls Education
- Integrated Education for the Disabled
- Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV)
- Mid-day Meal Scheme
- Educational Satellite
- Distribution of Free Textbooks
- Distribution of Free Uniforms
- Distribution of Free Bus Pass
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Education in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is the most literate state. It is above the national average rate, with state literacy being 80.33% in 2011, regarded as the top-rated in national-level literacy.
The state provides many opportunities for distance learning colleges and universities that have provided the scope for not only the people of this state but also students from other states.
- School Education in Tamil Nadu
- Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education
Education Administration and Authority in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Government consists of,
- Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department
- Tamil Nadu School Education Department
Union Government
- University Grants Commission (India)
- All India Council for Technical Education
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School Education in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu follows the national level pattern with 12 years of school education, i.e., 10+2+3, comprising eight years of elementary education (five years of primary and three years of middle school education) for the age groups 6 to 11 and 11 to 14 years, respectively.
Post elementary is the secondary and higher secondary education, each of two years. The minimum age required for admission into class 1 admission is five or above.
The higher secondary school certificate enables pupils to pursue studies in universities or colleges for higher education, technical, and professional courses.
Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education
The Secondary Education Board of Tamil Nadu was established in 1910. It is regulated by the Department of Education and the Government of Tamil Nadu, India.
The Tamil Nadu state board examination evaluates student development through three board examinations, conducted at the end of class 10 and final board exams at the end of class 11 and 12.
The marks obtained in the class 12 board examinations are entrance scores to apply for colleges/universities. However, the Tamil Nadu education system has Tamil and English as the medium of education.
Most private and government-aided schools follow English as the medium of instruction.
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Higher Education in Tamil Nadu
Higher education is technical institutions that include commerce institutions such as accountancy, typewriting, and shorthand. The Directorate of Technical Education regulates the higher education department of Tamil Nadu.
Higher Education offers diplomas, post-diploma degrees, postgraduate courses, and research programmes.
The two different university types in Tamil Nadu are as follows.
- Private University or Deemed University
- Public University or Government University. It means it is run by the state government of the Union of India or the government of the union of India.
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