Educator and former school administrator Vineetha Govindasamy has publicly backed Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu’s allegations of corruption and bribery in Tamil Nadu’s school education system, sharing her own experience of running a CBSE school for nearly a decade and describing what she called years of bureaucratic harassment, unofficial demands for money and misuse of private school resources by government authorities.
Govindasamy, associated with Abhishri Academy (formerly Aurobindo Vidhyalaya), responded to Vembu’s latest post on X in which he defended his earlier claims that his trust’s rural schools faced prolonged delays and alleged demands for bribes under the previous DMK government before approvals were granted after the change in government.
Sharing her own experience, Govindasamy wrote that managing a CBSE school had shown her “just how painful it can be to deal with the government machinery.”
“There are days when you come very close to giving up; not because running a school is difficult, but because you’re exhausted from constantly having to give. Even greed should have a ceiling. There has to be a point where they should just live & let live,” she wrote.
“Every Approval Came With An Expectation Of Money”
Govindasamy alleged that demands for money accompanied almost every statutory approval required to operate a school.
According to her, clearances relating to fire safety, building safety, kitchens, hostels and several other regulatory approvals routinely came with an expectation of unofficial payments.
“Every approval (fire, safety, kitchen, hostel, or any other clearance) seems to come with an expectation of money,” she alleged.
She further claimed that government meetings held near the school also resulted in demands that private educational institutions provide money, school vehicles, staff and other resources.
“Every government meeting happening in the proximity of our school, we are not requested but demanded to provide money, school vans, staff, and other resources,” she wrote.
School Vans Allegedly Used For 2022 Chess Olympiad Campaign
Govindasamy also levelled a specific allegation regarding the 2022 FIDE Chess Olympiad hosted in Chennai.
According to her, officials instructed the school to provide several school vans for promotional activities connected with the international event.
She alleged that large posters featuring then Chief Minister M.K. Stalin alongside Chess Olympiad branding were pasted on the school’s vehicles for the campaign.
“As an example, during the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai in 2022, we were instructed to provide a couple of our school vans for advertisement. Huge posters featuring our Chief Minister and the Chess Olympiad branding were put up on our school vehicles,” she wrote.
Govindasamy further claimed that when the school requested removal of the posters after the event concluded, officials allegedly refused to bear the cost.
“A month after the event, when we requested that they be removed, we were told either to leave them as they were or remove them at our own expense, which was not cheap,” she alleged.
“Officials Said Corruption No Longer Had To Be Hidden”
Perhaps her strongest allegation concerned what she claimed government officials themselves had told her.
Govindasamy alleged that officials openly admitted corruption had always existed in Tamil Nadu but claimed that under the previous government they no longer feared being caught.
“What disturbed me even more was hearing government officials openly say that corruption has always existed in TN, but under the current government, they no longer have to hide it or fear getting caught. Those words came from their own mouths,” she wrote.
Clarifying that she was not aligned with any political party, Govindasamy said her remarks were based entirely on her personal experience.
“I’m neither for nor against any political party. But when you endure one blow after another for years, it’s only natural to feel relieved, and even celebrate, when the wind changes direction and you finally sense the possibility of a fresh breeze,” she wrote.
Leading a CBSE school for close to 10 years has shown me just how painful it can be to deal with the government machinery.
There are days when you come very close to giving up; not because running a school is difficult, but because you’re exhausted from constantly having to…
— Vineetha Govindasamy (@VineethaGov) June 25, 2026
Vembu Says Others Are Beginning To Speak Out
Vembu reshared Govindasamy’s post, stating that because she did not possess the same public profile as he did, the hardships endured by her school under the previous administration had allegedly been even more severe.
He urged other school administrators and educators who had privately experienced similar issues to speak publicly.
Another CBSE School leader opens up. She did not have my prominence so the suffering inflicted on their school was much more.
I encourage people who silently suffered the disgusting corruption of the DMK era to come out.
We voted them out. Now let us tell the truth. https://t.co/4NmUHtG03U
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) June 25, 2026
Govindasamy’s post came a day after Vembu issued a detailed clarification defending his earlier remarks, following criticism from the “DMK ecosystem.”
Vembu had earlier stated that Kalaivani Kalvi Maiyam, the trust that operates his free rural schools in Tenkasi and Theni, faced prolonged delays in obtaining statutory approvals during the previous DMK government and alleged that officials demanded money to process them.
According to Vembu, a retired IPS officer who had originally established the Theni campus had informed him that he was unable to obtain the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) because he refused to pay the money allegedly demanded by officials.
Vembu also stated that Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) approval for permanent buildings at the trust’s Tenkasi school remained pending throughout the previous government’s tenure and was granted only after the change in government.
He further asserted that once the new government assumed office, approvals were processed without any demand for unofficial payments.
Responding to critics who accused him of fabricating the allegations to politically benefit the ruling TVK government, Vembu maintained that he was merely recounting his own experience running free schools in rural Tamil Nadu and said he had no political motive behind his remarks.
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