TN to witness boom in higher education

Chennai: Tamil Nadu is all set to witness a major boom in higher education with ten universities, including a 'World Class University', to be set up by both state and central governments during the coming academic year.

Replying to the debate on the demands for grants for higher education in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, State Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi said the Centre had announced that a world class university would come up at Coimbatore and a central university at Tiruvarur.

The state would also get a deemed university, 'Indian Institute of Management', he said.

Presidency college and Queen Mary's college, two oldest colleges in the city, Government Arts college, Kumbakonam, where mathematical genius late Ramanujan studied, P S G Engineering college, Thiyagaryar Engineering college, Madurai and Government Arts college, Coimbatore, would be converted into unitary universities, he announced.

A separate university for teachers' training would also be set up in the state, he said.

 

With this, the total number of universities in the state would go up to 24, besides, he said, a lot of self-financing colleges, have been granted deemed university status.

Ponmudi also announced reduction in the qualifying mark for admission to engineering colleges from 60 to 55 per cent as a lot of seats are lying vacant in the past few years.

Last year alone over 10,000 seats were not filled in the state, he said.

He announced that the government would establish six engineering colleges in the state in the coming year.

Tamil Nadu State Council for Technical Education for upgradation of curriculum in the professional courses would be set up this year. All universities had been directed to introduce choice based credit system in colleges affiliated to them from this year, he said.