Tamil Nadu’s landmark education scheme helps SC/ST students achieve a 96% pass rate, the highest in 60 years, and gain admissions to premier institutions
Chennai: The "Naan Mudhalvan" scheme, a dream welfare project of Chief Minister M K Stalin, has helped students from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities get admission in prestigious institutions such as IITs and NITs, achieving new milestones and other government initiatives had led to the pass percentage of SC and ST students touching an unprecedented 96 percent in 60 years, an official press release said.
Coaching was given to tribal students appearing for entrance exams to higher educational institutions covering JEE, NEET, CLAT, NIFT, and CUET, which led to 2 students joining medical college, 3 in NIT, Trichy, 1 student in Trichy National Law University, 4 students in NIFT Chennai (Taramani), and 6 students in Gandhigram Central University, Dindigul, the release said.
Two students of the Government Tribal Girls' Higher Secondary Residential School in Salem District, R Rohini and L Suganya, passed the JEE in 2024 and joined NIT Trichy, attributing their success to the "Naan Mudhalvan" scheme and so did C Parthasarathi, a student from Sundararajapuram Adi Dravidar welfare school, Virudhunagar district, who secured admission in Aerospace Design at IIT Madras.
Apart from the 16 students pursuing higher studies with government educational assistance grants, special training workshops had been organized for school teachers and the innovative "Puthiyathor Ulagu Sei" training was delivered through the State Council of Educational Research and Training, it said.
Since Stalin took office, the government had been rolling out innovative schemes to enable everyone to have access to everything with a focused attention on the advancement of SC and ST communities with key initiatives for their educational progress, it said.
Orders had been issued to establish well-equipped educational centres, hostels, and village knowledge hubs in areas where members of these communities reside and 480 new classrooms and 15 science laboratories had been constructed in 154 Adi Dravidar welfare schools at a cost of Rs 108.50 crore. Additionally, 107 Adi Dravidar and tribal welfare schools, 256 classrooms, 42 toilets, 21 higher secondary schools, and laboratories in 65 high schools are being constructed for 125.00 crore, it said.
Among the other measures are smart classrooms in 119 Adi Dravidar welfare schools, smart boards in 174 schools, advanced technology laboratories in 206 schools, equipment worth Rs 3.15 crore for science laboratories in 126 Adi Dravidar and tribal higher secondary schools and provision of Rs 25,000 to schools, under the educational tour scheme to foster interest in higher studies.
For students from Adi Dravidar, Tribal, and converted Christian Adi Dravidar communities in their final year (either 3-years or 5-years courses) in Government Law Colleges, a grant of Rs 10,000 was being given for internships as per curriculum, the release said.
