Chennai, June 2 (IANS) Government schools across Tamil Nadu will reopen on Monday after the summer vacation, with a renewed focus on digital learning and foundational skill-building in reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The CBSE and other board schools in the state are scheduled to reopen between June 2 and 6.

From this academic year, digital intervention will begin as early as Class I, with all government primary schools now equipped with smart boards.

Elementary Education Director P.A. Naresh said students will benefit from a “unique experience” of digital learning from the very first day of school. “All primary schools now have smart boards, while middle schools have been provided with hi-tech labs. Our core focus this year will be increasing enrolment, sustaining student attendance, enhancing learning outcomes, and maintaining zero tolerance for POCSO-related offences,” he added.

In preparation for reopening, schools across the city have cleaned and refreshed campuses and held teacher meetings to plan academic schedules. As of now, over 1.85 lakh students have enrolled in Class I in government schools, and the number is expected to cross four lakh by the end of June.

For Classes 6 to 8, the state government is launching a new initiative called ‘Thiran’, aimed at improving reading and writing skills in both Tamil and English, along with basic mathematics.

“We are prioritising the improvement of language and arithmetic skills,” said School Education Director S. Kannappan. “Teachers have been instructed to use online resources to improve students’ pronunciation and spoken English. To strengthen basic math, we are emphasising daily repetition of multiplication tables.”

The state government has also announced a major curriculum and syllabus revision across all classes, to be implemented from the 2025–26 academic year. However, this year, the government has not conducted Right to Education (RTE) admissions in private schools due to pending reimbursements from the Union government. Typically, around 70,000 students join 8,000 private schools annually under the RTE Act.

Some schools are introducing foundational classes for NEET and JEE from Class 9 onwards, while Chennai Corporation schools have set ambitious goals to improve board exam results and increase admissions. “We want more top scorers in Classes 10 and 12 this year,” said Padmaja R., headmistress of Chennai Girls Higher Secondary School, Saidapet.

–IANS

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