As many as 4,554 principals across Tamil Nadu have invited the School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi to their schools for the 100-day book reading challenge.

According to a circular issued by the School Education Department, schools were invited to take part in the first phase of the 100-day challenge. “It is an effort to improve the reading ability of students in Tamil Nadu. Further, it is also aimed at breaking the myth that Tamil Nadu students can’t read or do arithmetic as some reports claim,” said Director of Elementary Education P.A. Naresh.

The exercise was initiated in November 2024 after a visit by Mr. Mahesh to the Panchayat Union Primary School in Krishnagiri district where the principal had invited him to test her students in language and arithmetic. The schools which took up the voluntary exercise could train their students in arithmetic and reading in Tamil and English.

The exercise is expected to end during the first week of April when an open challenge is called to the public to test the children.

The circular also added that the District Education Officers (Elementary) must conduct a meeting with the principals and provide adequate instructions and guidelines to achieve the target.