Vivek Ramaswamy has made education reform the centrepiece of his 2026 Ohio gubernatorial campaign, arguing that the current system is failing students academically and placing unnecessary strain on working families. His platform calls for a fundamental restructuring of the school calendar and instructional priorities. He has proposed moving to year-round schooling, extending the standard school day so children return home at 4pm rather than 3pm, and offering longer on-campus hours to reduce childcare pressure. Alongside these scheduling changes, he has pledged to raise the state’s academic standards by reviving the third-grade reading guarantee, expanding phonics-based reading instruction, tying teacher compensation to student performance outcomes, widening school-choice access, and removing what he characterises as ideological or non-academic material from classrooms.
The reform package has triggered backlash among his critics, but the strongest and most personal attack came from Nalin Haley — son of former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley — who denounced Ramaswamy on X. Nalin claimed that the proposed measures reflected “third-world parenting” and argued that the candidate “should not be near any child,” referring specifically to the plans for year-round schooling and extended hours. His post also highlighted a past 2022 remark in which Ramaswamy reportedly suggested promoting rhyme-based messaging such as “wait until 8,” advocating that sex-education lessons begin only after children reach eight years of age as a Republican response to Florida’s “don’t say gay” bill.
The confrontation underscores how education has become one of the defining ideological battlegrounds in US politics. For many conservatives, concerns about reading and math competency, school choice, and curriculum oversight now sit at the heart of electoral debates. Ramaswamy has framed his platform as a bid to repair what he calls a “broken system,” citing government data that shows declining literacy and numeracy. His critics contend that his proposals are overly rigid, disruptive to childhood development and family life, and ideologically driven rather than evidence-based. With education rankings, school-hours policy, and cultural content all turning into polarising issues, the dispute between Ramaswamy and Nalin Haley offers an early indication of how contentious Ohio’s 2026 governor’s race is likely to become.
