Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Wednesday, February 19, said the department's helpline, 14417, received a total of 84 calls from students regarding sexual harassment complaints over the past two years.

Of these, eight incidents occurred within school campuses.

The complaints have been forwarded to the respective education officials and district child protection offices and are being regularly followed up, he said. He was speaking to reporters after inspecting the helpline centre at the Perasiriyar Anbazhagan Education Campus, according to a report by The New Indian Express.

Responding to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State President K Annamalai's demand for his resignation over the increasing number of sexual assault cases in schools, Poyyamozhi indicated such cases are higher in BJP-ruled states. He further said the state government is working to address these issues and prevent such incidents.

The minister added the department will launch a large-scale awareness campaign for students on the issue in June.

"Even self-defence classes for female students were being conducted under the Samagra Shiksha scheme with a 60:40 fund-sharing ratio. But the union government has stopped the fund. However, the chief minister has instructed that no schemes should be discontinued due to a lack of funds," he added, stated the report by The New Indian Express.