New buildings were being constructed in Adi Dravidar tribal welfare schools across the State at a total cost of ₹125 crore, the Tamil Nadu government said on Tuesday. Over 730 new classrooms have already been constructed in about 150 such schools, it said.An official release listing out the welfare programmes being implemented for the welfare of the Adi Dravidar and tribal communities was released by the State government on Tuesday.According to the release, CCTV and an electronic biometric attendance system have been installed in about 300 such schools. About 65 classrooms and 39 labs have been constructed in 39 residential schools for tribal communities. A total of eight government schools for tribal communities located in hilly areas have been upgraded, and six such higher secondary schools have been upgraded as model schools, it said.Total assistance under the Annal Ambedkar Overseas Higher Education Scheme has been increased from ₹5.31 crore in 2021-22 to ₹65 crore in 2025-26. Assistance for postgraduate and research programmes are provided up to ₹36 lakh per student per annum.Published - November 18, 2025 11:38 pm IST