P. Viswanathan. File
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam
Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan on Thursday (September 10, 2026) defended the State government’s decision to bring in amendments to the Tamil Nadu Private Universities Act, 2019, lowering the minimum requirement of land and endowment size. He claimed the State was seeking to attract world-class private universities with the best facilities.
Speaking to reporters after attending the graduation day of a private women’s college in Chennai, Mr. Viswanathan said that with the Tamil Nadu Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the government was seeking to set up integrated universities with good syllabus, curriculum, faculty, and infrastructure, similar to foreign universities like Oxford.
“Tamil Nadu has historically been an education hub. It needs world-class universities and with that in mind, we have reduced the requirements. Multinational companies in the fields of manufacturing or IT services are coming to India and have their eyes set for Tamil Nadu for recruitment,” he contended.
The aim wasn’t to help existing colleges to expand and become universities but invite fresh universities to be set up with world-class facilities, he maintained. The Department, he said, would organise a grand conclave of placement officers of all colleges in the State with the idea of weaving internships, industrial visits, and employment opportunities into the larger ‘integrated education’ model that his department was pursuing.
The government on Tuesday (September 8) passed the Bill in the Assembly amending existing provisions of Tamil Nadu Private Universities Act, 2019, reducing the minimum contiguous land requirement to 12 acres in Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) limits, 18 acres in other municipal corporations and councils, and 25 acres for the rest of the State. Similarly, the Bill also reduces the permanent endowment fund to ₹25 crore.
Published – September 10, 2026 06:03 pm IST
