The Tamil Nadu government should release a White Paper on the status of government and private schools in light of the decision to close down 1,500 government schools due to a lack of patronage from students, former Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan said on Sunday.
Talking to reporters in Madurai, he noted that many schools were on the verge of closure, and that this was not a sudden decision but one that reflected the quality of education being imparted by government schools over the last 20 years. This also stood in sharp contrast to private schools which were mushrooming across the State, he said.
Though he appreciated the efforts being made by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and School Education Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan to avert such a scenario, he said the closure of government schools will not augur well for the State.
When asked about the objections raised by Opposition parties in T.N. to the three-language formula the Centre had sought to implement, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the DMK did not have any concrete policy on education, and only wanted to fill its coffers.
 
“Their (DMK leaders’) children have access to learning Hindi and private schools run by their family members teach Hindi. Do they mean to say that Hindi is only for those who can afford to learn it and not for the poor?” he asked. Mr. Radhakrishnan added that students and their parents should become aware of the “double-standards” of the DMK.
“Will the DMK raise its voice to close down all private schools that teach Hindi?” he asked.
On the Union government’s decision to have a single tribunal to deal with inter-State river water disputes across the country, he said the Opposition should be concerned about whether Tamil Nadu would get adequate water from the Cauvery.