Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday delivered yet another dose of lofty rhetoric – this time from the stage of a private English medium school in Tamil Nadu.
Speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of St. Thomas English High School in Gudalur, Rahul Gandhi declared that his political fight was to “develop an India where people are kind to each other,” before launching into a lecture on education policy.
Anti-Privatisation Sermon – From A Private School
During an interaction with students, a Class 9 student asked Gandhi what steps he would take to ensure equal opportunities for all, irrespective of background. Gandhi responded by stressing the importance of education and immediately pivoted to attacking privatisation.
He stated that education should not be “extremely expensive” and should not be “fully privatised,” arguing that while private institutions may exist, the government must invest heavily in public education through budgetary allocations. He said, “Well, first of all, you need to have a good education system. And I believe that education should not be extremely expensive. Education should not be fully privatised. There can be private schools and colleges, but there is a role for good‑quality government education. And for that, the government has to put money into the budget for education. So that’s the first thing.”
BJP leader Annamalai called out the irony and called it a self-goal. He shared the video clipping of the interaction and wrote, “Attending a private school event in Gudalur, Tamil Nadu, Thiru Rahul Gandhi avl said education should not be extremely expensive and should not be privatised (a moment later, he course-corrected upon realising the setting was a private institution, not a party platform). A self-goal of sorts; delivering sermons against privatisation from a private school stage, in a state where the ruling DMK’s own leaders run and profit from a flourishing network of private educational institutions.”
View this post on Instagram
It is noteworthy that Tamil Nadu is currently governed by the DMK, a party under whose successive administrations private education has expanded significantly. Several senior DMK leaders, ministers, and their family members are associated with the management of private schools, colleges, engineering institutions, and medical colleges across the state.
Over the years, private and self-financing institutions, ranging from arts and science colleges to deemed universities, have become a dominant feature of Tamil Nadu’s education landscape.
Against this backdrop, Rahul Gandhi’s remarks cautioning against the privatisation of education were made without any reference to the role played by his alliance partner in the growth of private educational institutions in the state, nor did he address the policy framework under which private education has flourished in Tamil Nadu.
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
