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Education

Tamil Nadu is one of the most literate states in India, with a literacy rate estimated to be 82.9% as per the 2017 National Statistical Commission survey, higher than the national average of 77.7%. The state had seen one of the highest literacy growth since the 1960s due to the midday meal scheme introduced on a large scale by K. Kamaraj to increase school enrollment. The scheme was further upgraded in 1982 to "Nutritious noon-meal scheme" to combat malnutrition. As of 2022, the state has one of the highest enrollment to secondary education at 95.6%, far above the national average of 79.6%. An analysis of primary school education by Pratham showed a low drop-off rate but poor quality of education compared to certain other states.

As of 2022, the state had over 37,211 government schools, 8,403 government-aided schools and 12,631 private schools which educate 5.47 million, 2.84 million, and 5.69 million students respectively. There are 3,12,683 teachers with 80,217 teachers in government-aided schools with an average teacher-pupil ratio of 1:26.6. Public schools are all affiliated with the Tamil Nadu State Board, while private schools may be affiliated with either of Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (ICSE) or National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). School education starts with two years of kindergarten from age three onwards and then follows the Indian 10+2 plan, ten years of school and two years of higher secondary education.

As of 2023, there are 56 universities in the state including 24 public universities, four private universities and 28 deemed-to-be universities. The University of Madras was founded in 1857 and is one of India's first modern universities. There are 510 engineering colleges including 34 government colleges in the state. Indian Institute of Technology Madras is a premier institute of engineering and College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University founded in 1794 is the oldest engineering college in India. The Officers Training Academy of the Indian Army is headquartered at Chennai. There are also 496 polytechnic institutions with 92 government colleges and 935 arts and science colleges in the state including 302 government run colleges. Madras Christian College (1837), Presidency College (1840) and Pachaiyappa's College (1842) are amongst the oldest arts and science colleges in the country.

There are over 870 medical, nursing and dental colleges in the state including 21 for traditional medicine and four for modern medicine. The Madras Medical College was established in 1835 and is one of the oldest medical colleges in India. As per the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings in 2023, 26 universities, 15 engineering, 35 arts science, 8 management and 8 medical colleges from the state are ranked amongst the top 100 in the country. As of 2023, the state has a 69% reservation in educational institutions for socially backward sections of society, the highest among all Indian states. There are ten institutes of national importance in the state. Research institutes including Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Central Institute for Cotton Research, Sugarcane Breeding Research Institute, Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB) and Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education are involved in agricultural research.

As of 2023, the state has 4,622 public libraries. Established in 1896, Connemara Public Library is one of the oldest and is amongst the four National Depository Centres in India that receive a copy of all newspapers and books published in the country. The Anna Centenary Library is the largest library in Asia. There are many research institutions spread across the state. Chennai book fair is an annual book fair organized by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI) and is typically held in December–January.