Then Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan in 2018. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
One thing that students, teachers and parents in Tamil Nadu could consistently count on was the timely announcement of State Board 12th Exam Results.
So this year, when the Department of Education announced that the May 8 release date would be pushed back, it caused considerable disappointment across the education community. Reason? The results were to be published by the Minister of Education, as was the case in previous years. However, since the new government had not yet been formed, no minister could be found to authorize the announcement, leading to delays.
A tradition started by Sengottaiyan
But this was not always the case; the results were politicized only in 2018. The tradition started that year when the then education minister for schools KA Sengottaiyan (then in the AIADMK) released the class 12 results. Before that, the Directorate of Government Examinations under the Ministry of Education would have released them.
Till 2017, the Tamil Nadu government was publishing the state rank list along with the result analysis. However, in 2017 the Ministry of Education abandoned the grading system because it put undue pressure on students and reduced their results to mere grades, a move widely welcomed by both educators and parents.
After the DMK government was voted to power in 2021, the mantle passed to Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, who served as Education Minister. During his tenure, he personally released the examination timetables and results for classes 10, 11 and 12. This practice changed only during election years such as the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
This year, with no government in place at the time and no education minister holding the fort, the ministry initially decided to delay the release of the results. A verbal nod from the minister was awaited to proceed. The ministry also announced that the new date would be communicated only a day in advance, leaving little time for students and schools to prepare the results.
Many educators have pointed out that this wait is detrimental to students’ well-being because it could cause them to miss out on the opportunity to apply early to various college courses. Some experts further argued that there was no functional need for the minister to publish the results.
The confusion surrounding the dismissal also caught many students off guard. Those who intended to visit their schools for the announcement could not do so as they were not informed in time.
Decision withdrawn
Facing opposition from child rights groups, educators and the public, the department backed off its announcement and decided to release the Class 12 results as scheduled on May 8, much to the relief of students.
When the results were announced early that day, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar took to X in the afternoon and urged the Education Department to release the scores without delay. “The governor took note of the concerns regarding the delay before the new education minister assumed office and emphasized that the timely declaration of results is in the best interest of the students and should not be delayed,” Lok Bhavan said in a post.
Published – 11 May 2026 12:48 IST
