CHENNAI: The Palli Kalvi Pathukappu Iyakkam (School Education Protection Forum) on Wednesday launched a statewide signature campaign seeking measures to prevent the closure of government schools and increase student enrolment, with a target of collecting 20 lakh signatures over three months, at Agaram Foundation in T Nagar in Chennai.
CPM leader G Ramakrishnan, retired justice D Hariparanthaman, senior advocate Sudha Ramalingam and several other education activists participated in the launch.
The main demand of the forum is to take measures like increasing the number of schools with KG classes, bringing back mother tongue education and improving the infrastructure and quality of the government schools to attract more students to them.
The forum will launch the campaign in all districts on October 31 and participate in Gram Sabha meetings on November 1 to mobilise public support and collect signatures. The campaign will continue till January 2027.
G Ramakrishnan said at least 25 government schools were being shut down across the country per day, while the number was comparatively low in Tamil Nadu.
However, the state is moving towards a situation where schools could face closure due to low enrolment, with nearly 60% of government schools having fewer than 30 students, highlighting the need for such interventions.
The forum will also organise awareness journeys across the state, using artistic performances and public discussions to highlight the importance of protecting government schools.
