TN plans gaming curriculum to boost jobs, restricted Wi-Fi for students

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government is planning to introduce restricted Wi-Fi access for students to block harmful games and applications and incorporate gaming into educational curricula to safeguard young people and prepare them for emerging job opportunities, said Minister for IT, AI and Digital Services R Kumar.

Talking to reporters after inaugurating the 18th edition of the India Game Developers Conference (IGDC) 2026 here on Wednesday, he said the proposed restrictions would help students distinguish between appropriate and harmful digital content.

"We are planning to introduce restricted Wi-Fi for students, specifying what they should and should not access, including which games they can and cannot play," Kumar said.

The government is also planning to introduce gaming-related curricula in schools and higher education institutions to align education with industry requirements and expand employment opportunities, he said. The Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) would serve as the nodal agency for developing the gaming ecosystem, the minister said, adding that Tamil Nadu's IT policy needed revision.

Acknowledging that artificial intelligence was displacing jobs, he said emerging technologies could also generate significant employment in the coming years.

"AI is causing job losses. That is a reality. But it can also create many jobs. Gaming and related technologies, including animation, visual effects and extended reality (AVGC-XR), will play a major role in employment generation. We want to ensure that young people get jobs through multiple avenues, including curricular changes," he said.

The GDAI GameDev Outlook 2026 survey, which covered more than 100 industry respondents and 13 academic respondents, highlighted the need to bridge the gaming sector's skills gap. While 67.3% of industry respondents expressed willingness to support curriculum advisory boards, 56.7% rated fresh talent as poorly prepared or not ready for industry requirements. Further, 54.8% of surveyed studios plan to expand their teams over the next two years.

Organised by the Game Developer Association of India (GDAI), IGDC runs from October 28 to October 31, bringing together developers, studios, publishers and investors to explore business opportunities, international partnerships and talent development.