AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami has severely criticized the Tamil Nadu government for the closure of 207 government schools due to poor enrollment.

Palaniswami called the situation “disgraceful” and held both the state government and the Minister for School Education, Anbil Mahesh, responsible.

​Palaniswami’s remarks come as a direct response to Minister Mahesh’s explanation that the closures were a result of declining birth rates and parents increasingly preferring private schools.

The Leader of the Opposition argued that this was a weak justification and accused the government of a deliberate attempt to shut down public schools to benefit private institutions, particularly those owned by leaders and functionaries of the ruling DMK party.
​In his statement, Palaniswami demanded that the government take immediate action to rectify the situation. He urged the administration to reopen the 207 schools without delay and to launch a special enrollment drive to attract children from surrounding areas.

​Despite the criticism, the government has clarified that the closures are not permanent. Officials from the Directorate of Elementary Education stated that the schools are only temporarily closed and will reopen once student enrollment increases.

They also confirmed that the trend of low admissions is not limited to government institutions but is also visible in government-aided and private schools.