SS Rajagopalan | Photo credit: PICHUMANI K.
Eminent educationist SS Rajagopalan, who was part of the committee that formulated the Samacheer Kalvi (Tamil Nadu Uniform System of School Education) scheme during the DMK government led by former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, died late on Tuesday in Chennai. He was 95.
His body was handed over to the Sri Ramachandra Medical College in Porur for medical research.
Early in his career in the 1950s, Rajagopalan turned down job offers at the then Imperial Bank of India and the civil services to devote himself to teaching. He started as a mathematics teacher and retired as the principal of Sarvajana Higher Secondary School in Coimbatore.
He dedicated his life to promoting equitable education, mother tongue education and neighborhood schools. He was also a member of the Technical Committee of the All India Forum for Proper Education. He fought for the rights of students and teachers.
In an interview with The Hindu in 1997, Rajagopalan said, “All teachers should be motivated by four principles. Every child is educable; No two children are alike; every teacher is an eternal student; and it is the teacher who must develop a strategy to suit each individual student.”
State Platform for Common Education System – Tamil Nadu General Secretary PB Prince Gajendra Babu said, “He had great faith in students and the student movement and firmly believed that students would get equal educational opportunities for the people of India as their right.”
In a post on X, Education Minister for Schools Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said, “The death of a leading educationist is a great loss to the field of education. He was the one who emphasized that examination does not only assess learning. It also assesses teaching. While he led pioneering projects, he never hesitated to criticize them and always stood for the welfare of students.”
Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, who was the education minister during the Samacheer Kalvi talks, went to X to condole his demise.
“SS Rajagopalan was not only an outstanding teacher and educator, but his social outlook continues to serve as an inspirational example for today’s generation,” he said.
Published – 05 Feb 2026 0:39 IST
