Tamil Nadu, Karnataka ministers push back on NEET, saffronisation

At India Today Conclave South 2025, Tamil Nadu Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi and Karnataka’s Madhu Bangarappa pushed back against saffronisation of textbooks and compulsory Hindi, stressing secular and federal values in education.

Both highlighted their state initiatives, Karnataka’s bilingual schools and “Skill at School” programme, and Tamil Nadu’s midday meal and CM Breakfast Scheme.

They criticised inequitable funding, with Poyyamozhi pointing to Tamil Nadu’s higher education budget and Bangarappa citing unfair GST returns.

Rejecting NEET as an exam of “coaching affordability,” the ministers called for equity, skill-based learning, and reforms centred on children rather than politics.