Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi

Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi (born 2 December 1977 as "Nallamuththu Poyyamozhi")^[1] is an Indian politician serving as the Minister for School Education in Tamil Nadu and District secretary for Trichy district-South (Trichy east, Thiruverumbur & Manapparai constituencies) of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party.^[2] He was the Member of Legislative Assembly from 2016–2021. He served as the State Secretary of DMK Youth Wing from 2014–2019.

He started his political life as a party worker in the year 2000. He was appointed the Youth Wing Secretary in 2014. He was elected as a Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from Thiruverumbur constituency in 2016.^[3][4][5][6] He was again elected as MLA in May 2021 from the Thiruverumbur constituency consecutively and appointed the School Education Minister of Tamil Nadu.^[7]

Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi completed a doctorate at National College, Tiruchirappalli. The research focused on the mix of education and computer science. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhis dissertation, titled "Physical Activity, for Skill Development Through Machine Learning " was done under the guidance of T. Prasanna Balaji. ^[8] The study gave a real data analysis of physical‑education activities. How they help overall skill growth in students. The study used machine‑learning‑based assessment methods to check results and find patterns, in student progress.

Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi penned a bilingual book 'National Education Policy 2020: Madhayaanai (The Rogue Elephant)' ^[9] In the book, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi argues that the National Education Policy 2025 policy is directly imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states. He emphasizes that the two-language education policy followed by Tamil Nadu has been a backbone of the state's growth, and contends that NEP 2020 undermines this foundation..The work analyses perceived shortcomings in the policy, exploring its ideological basis and examining possible implications for Tamil Nadu's education system.

The book was released on 17 May 2025 at the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin presided over the launch ceremony. The book was received by Digvijaya Singh, senior Congress leader and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, V. Gopala Gowda, former Supreme Court judge and former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, and Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai, Padma Shri awardee and former Director of the ISRO Satellite Centre.^[10]

The Tamil Nadu State Education Policy 2025 is a state-level education policy for school education released by the Government of Tamil Nadu in the year 2025. The Union Government released the new National Education Policy in the year 2020.^[11] The Government of Tamil Nadu had been expressing opposition to the Union Government’s education policy due to ideological differences on issues such as the teaching of a third language and the entrance examination for medical education. Comparing the National Education Policy to a “rogue elephant,” the Tamil Nadu Minister for School Education, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, strongly campaigned against it, accusing it of dragging Tamil Nadu’s educational progress backward and creating obstacles. He also wrote and published a book titled “National Education Policy – 2020 as a Rogue Elephant,” which contains his criticisms.

It was announced that a special, state-specific education policy would be formulated for Tamil Nadu. For this purpose, a 14-member committee was constituted under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice T. Murugesan. The draft report of this education policy, consisting of 520 pages, was compiled in October 2023. The report was submitted to the government on July 1, 2024. It was released by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on August 8, 2025.^[12]