Tamil Nadu - Education

Education

Tamil Nadu is one of the most literate states in India. Tamil Nadu has performed reasonably well in terms of literacy growth during the decade 2001–2011. A survey conducted by the Industry body Assocham ranks Tamil Nadu top among Indian states with about 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in primary and upper primary education. One of the basic limitations for improvement in education in the state is the rate of absence of teachers in public schools, which at 21.4% is significant. The analysis of primary school education in the state by Pratham shows a low drop-off rate but poor quality of state education compared to other states. Tamil Nadu has 37 universities, 455 engineering colleges, 449 Polytechnic Colleges and 566 arts and science colleges, 34335 elementary schools, 5167 high schools, 5054 higher secondary schools and 5000 hospitals. Some of the notable educational institutes present in Tamil Nadu are Indian Institute of Technology Madras, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Madras Institute of Technology, College of Engineering, Guindy, PSG College of Technology Coimbatore,Government College of Technology Coimbatore, Thiagarajar College of Engineering Madurai, University of Madras, Loyola College, Madras Medical College,Stanley Medical College, Christian Medical College and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

India has a human development index calculated as 0.619, while the corresponding figure for Tamil Nadu is 0.736, placing it among the top states in the country. The life expectancy at birth for males is 65.2 years and for females it is 67.6 years. However, it has a high level of poverty especially in the rural areas. As of 2004–2005, the poverty line was set at 351.86/month for rural areas and 547.42/month for urban areas. Poverty in the state dropped from 51.7% in 1983 to 21.1% in 2001 For the period 2004–2005, the Trend in Incidence of Poverty in the state was 22.5% compared with the national figure of 27.5%. The World Bank is currently assisting the state in reducing poverty, High drop-out and low completion of secondary schools continue to hinder the quality of training in the population. Other problems include class, gender, inter-district and urban-rural disparities. Based on URP – Consumption for the period 2004–2005, percentage of the state's population Below Poverty Line was 27.5%. The Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative ranks Tamil Nadu to have a Multidimensional Poverty Index of 0.141, which is in the level of Ghana among the developing countries. Corruption is a major problem in the state with Transparency International ranking it the second most corrupt among the states of India.

Tamil Nadu now has 69% reservation in educational institutions for socially backward section fo the society, the highest among all Indian states.

The Midday Meal Scheme program in Tamil Nadu, initiated by Kamaraj, was expanded considerably during the rule of the AIADMK by MGR in 1983, although the state is among the 12 states in India that have an alarming level of hunger, according to the 2008 Global Hunger Index.