CHENNAI: Renowned educationist SS Rajagopalan passed away here on Wednesday. He was 95.
An English teacher by profession, Rajagopalan served as a senate member of the University of Madras. He was widely known for his advocacy of mother tongue as the medium of instruction in government schools.
His career was marked by significant contributions to educational policy. He served as a member of the samacheer kalvi (uniform education) panel, formed by the late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi during the 20062011 DMK regime. Through research comparing syllabi across boards, he helped shape the content of the state’s uniform curriculum. He also served on the technical committee of the All India Forum for Right Education and worked with the State Platform for Common School System in Tamil Nadu.
Condoling his death, Chief Minister Stalin said Rajagopalan was a member of the committee on Samacheer Kalvi constituted by Tamil Nadu government and had made valuable contributions to field of education.
Describing his passing as an irreparable loss to educational fraternity, Stalin conveyed his heartfelt condolences to bereaved family members.
School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi posted on X: “The demise of senior educationist S S Rajagopalan is a great loss to the field of education... He always worked for the welfare of students.”
The minister recalled Rajagopalan’s emphasis that “examination does not merely evaluate learning; it also evaluates teaching.”
Left parties expressed deep sorrow over the death of educationist Rajagopalan, recalling his lifelong contribution to progressive school education and cause of equitable, mother tongue-based learning.
CPM State secretary P Shanmugam said Rajagopalan had played a constructive role in shaping progressive initiatives in the State’s school education system. He noted that Rajagopalan’s father, guided by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, had pioneered the establishment of Tamil-medium schools in Coimbatore district, and that Rajagopalan imbibed a strong sense of patriotism and socialist values from an early age.
Urging the State government to recognise his contribution, the CPM appealed for the institution of a doctoral research fellowship in the name of Dr SS Rajagopalan.
CPI state secretary M Veerapandian described Rajagopalan as a progressive educationist who fought for free education for all, from primary schooling to research education. He said Rajagopalan had visited the Soviet Union and helped create awareness in Tamil Nadu about education system.