Chennai: The state govt aims to set up world-class universities, said higher education minister P Viswanathan. Speaking to reporters after participating in the convocation of Anna Adarsh College for Women, he said, “Tamil Nadu wants to be the role model for the rest of the country in setting up private universities.”
Responding to criticism from various political parties and teacher organisations over the amendment that reduced the land requirement and endowment fund for setting up private universities, the minister said there is no scope for commercialising education. He also clarified that the govt is not converting existing private colleges into universities. “The relaxation of norms is for new universities,” he said. The recent amendment to the Tamil Nadu Private Universities Act, 2019, reduced the land requirement to set up private universities in Chennai city from 100 acres to 12 acres. For municipal corporations and municipal councils, the minimum land requirement was 18 acres. For areas other than GCC, municipal corporations and municipal councils, govt has fixed the minimum land requirement at 25 acres.
“We want more private universities. Hundreds of universities function on campuses like Oxford and Cambridge. We want to provide such integrated universities,” Viswanathan said.
The amendment also brought down the endowment fund required to establish a private university from 50 crore to 25 crore. The govt is also planning to conduct a conclave for placement officers. He also said the state govt will create a chain of 200 hostels with one lakh beds at a cost of 3,200 crore through a public-private partnership.
