Tamil Nadu: A textbook case of inclusivity

CHENNAI: With a stellar Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of 51.4 against the national average of 27.1, Tamil Nadu has been making rapid strides in higher education. The new DMK government with greater emphasis on quality over quantity has unveiled a slew of measures to improve the quality of education and make it more inclusive and accessible, officials said. 

Higher education is to identify, recognise and improve the talent of youth to enable them face challenges. One of the most crucial welfare measures initiated by the government was to reserve 7.5% seats in engineering and other professional colleges for government school students on a preferential basis along with waiver of course fee and hostel and transportation fee.

“The initiative has opened several opportunities for government students who were unable to study in engineering colleges because of affordability of fee,” said K Prabhakaran, a retired government schoolteacher.

Though government provided free textbooks, laptops, bus passes, and fee exemption in undergraduate and postgraduate arts and science courses, reservation of seats was essential to make professional courses accessible to government school students, academicians said.

Another path-breaking scheme launched by the DMK government is Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance Scheme. Under the scheme, all girl students who studied from Classes 6 to 12 in government schools will get Rs 1,000/- per month in their bank accounts for higher education till they complete their degree, diploma or ITI courses. The scheme has been designed to encourage more girl students to pursue higher education without financial trouble. Approximately six lakh girls are expected to benefit from the scheme and Rs 698 crore has been allocated for the scheme this year.  

The government has also announced that it will bear the entire cost of education of government school students who get UG seats in institutions like IITs, IIMs, and IISc. “The State has adopted several progressive measures in bridging the gender gap and urban-rural divide in higher education,” said noted academician and former Madras University Vice-Chancellor S P Thyagarajan.

Along with gender parity, the government is also focusing on making students more employable and wants to strengthen research work in higher education. At least 20 new arts and science colleges will be started across the State and to open research avenues for students, the government has started offering Ph.D programmes in 10 government arts and science colleges from 2021-22 academic year.

Higher education secretary D Karthikeyan said intensive structural reforms have been planned to transform the state into a knowledge-economy.

“Measures are being taken to revamp and enhance the syllabus of State universities for upskilling students and to fulfil industrial requirements. We have started work on overhauling the syllabus of Anna University and the effort will be extended to other arts and science universities. The department is striving to bring the State’s academic standards on a par with international institutes,” Karthikeyan told TNIE.

“We have set up a drone corporation in Anna University, which is a novel initiative to boost research work in the sector,” he added. A total of Rs 5,668.89 crore has been allotted for the higher education department. Tamil Nadu has consistently performed well in NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) with 19 institutions in overall category, 19 institutions in university category with Anna University placed on top among Tamil Nadu State Universities, 33 institutions in top-100 in arts and science category and 36 technical institutions in top-200. We are also working on a detailed blueprint to improve our universities’ ranking in NIRF, higher education department officials said.

Educationists feel a lot more can be done to make Tamil Nadu a frontrunner in the higher education sector in the country. “Funding for State universities should be increased and government must support more quality research, launch research fellowships and take steps to showcase our research findings,” Thyagarajan said.