CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is likely to become the first big state, with over eight crore population, to achieve full literacy after the results of the recently held literacy exam are released in January 2026. Under the New India Literacy Programme (NILP), the TN Directorate of Non-Formal and Adult Education (DNFE) conducted a literacy exam on December 14, for which over 9.63 lakh adults attended the exam across the state.
The NILP, under the Ministry of Education, is a five-year programme from the financial years 2022-27, aimed at educating adults in India. However, TN, one of the largest states with over eight crore population, has achieved this feat in just three years.
TN officials claim that the government set 2026 as the target to achieve full literacy.
Hence, as part of the first round of assessment conducted on June 15 for the 2025-26 academic year, over 5.37 lakh learners appeared for the exam in 30,191 exam centres, with each volunteer allotted for one centre across the state. In the June 15 assessment, where TN secured a full pass percentage, more than 42 lakh women and over 10 lakh men aced the exam.
Subsequently, in the December exam conducted in 39,250 centres across TN, more than 9.63 lakh candidates, mostly above 40 years, wrote the exam.
Of them, 1.98 lakh are male candidates, a whopping 7.64 lakh candidates are women, and eight candidates are trans persons. As for trans persons, six took the exam in Chennai (four from Tiruvottriyur block and two from Teynampet block), and one each from Thanjavur and Tiruvannamalai districts.