Dark Days Of Students Without Textbooks Are Over; ‘Tughlaq Reform’ Charge Is Baseless: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly criticised senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala for describing the advance distribution of textbooks and uniforms to school students as a “Tughlaq reform.” The Chief Minister said the remark is baseless and reflects an attempt to belittle the progress achieved in Kerala’s public education sector.

In a Facebook post issued after inaugurating the state-level distribution of textbooks and uniforms for the upcoming academic year, Pinarayi Vijayan said Kerala has moved far beyond the period when students struggled without textbooks even months after schools reopened. He recalled that during the previous UDF government, textbooks were delayed for months, forcing schools to rely on photocopies to conduct classes.

From that situation, the state has now reached a stage where textbooks for the next academic year are prepared well in advance, he said. For the 2026–27 academic year, 5.9 crore textbooks and eight lakh handloom uniforms have already been readied months before schools reopen. The Chief Minister said this reflects the major changes brought to the education sector over the past decade under the LDF government.

Earlier in the day, Chennithala had questioned the decision to print textbooks before the declaration of exam results and asked whether books were being supplied without knowing if students would pass to the next class. His claims overlook the reality during the UDF government, when P.K. Abdu Rabb was Education Minister and students had to wait for months after schools reopened to receive textbooks, drawing widespread criticism at the time.

Education Minister V Sivankutty also responded strongly, stating that calling early textbook distribution a “Tughlaq reform” amounts to an attack on the future of poor children in Kerala. He said government schools are being upgraded to international standards and questioned how such efforts could be mocked.