No caste, communal or political activities will be allowed in Tamil Nadu schools, Madras High Court told
The Directorate of School Education has issued a circular on Friday (July 10, 2026) making it clear that the premises of 57,671 schools functioning under
The Directorate of School Education has issued a circular on Friday (July 10, 2026) making it clear that the premises of 57,671 schools functioning under it in Tamil Nadu must strictly be used only for curricular and co-curricular activities and not for any kind of caste, communal or political activities, Advocate General Vijay Narayan told the Madras High Court on Monday (July 13). The submission was made before the first Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan who dismissed as withdrawn a public interest litigation filed by AIADMK former MLA V.P.B. Paramasivam accusing the ruling TVK of using educational institutions for political propaganda.
The petitioner chose to withdraw the case in view of the latest circular. Submitting a copy of the circular before the Division Bench, the A-G said, the Director of Private Schools, Director of Elementary Education and Director of School Education had signed the circular jointly pursuant to complaints received regarding certain individuals using school campuses for religious, political and caste based activities in an attempt to disrupt the aim of school education. The circular stated the primary aim of the school education department was to inculcate unity and brotherhood among 1,03,98,748 students hailing from diverse backgrounds but pursuing education together in the 57,671 schools.
All the district-level school education officials were reminded that the students should never get to feel any kind of discrimination on grounds of caste, community or political affiliation. The Chief Educational Officers (CEOs) as well as District Educational Officers (DEOs) have also been told that the use of school premises for caste, community or political activities would not only lead to an undesirable division among students but also subject the young minds to psychological pressure. Therefore, the CEOs and DEOs had been instructed to convey the message to the school principals as well as headmasters concerned.
The circular required the principals/headmasters to ensure their school premises remains to be a pleasant place where the educational aspirations of the students are fulfilled and they were never used for non educational activities. The heads were also asked not to allow the classrooms, auditoriums or playgrounds for activities conducted by outsiders and permit only government authorised birthday/birth anniversary celebrations of leaders.
The BriefWire