It will bring a policy that will make it easier to get loans for higher education, says P. Viswanathan

Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan addressed the media in Chennai on Wednesday. | Photo credit: M. SRINATH

Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan said the government would work to introduce a uniform policy to make higher education burden-free for students and parents. “We will try to make students able to get bank loans for higher education,” he said while addressing the media after releasing the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) 2026 rank on Wednesday.

Asked about the collection of high capitation fees by private institutions, the minister said he had verbally directed the institutions that were allegedly charging high capitation fees to refrain from doing so in the interest of students. His office, he said, helped poor and deserving students seek admissions in private colleges without having to pay huge amounts. “Once the counseling process is completed, we will introduce a single policy that will be burden-free for both students and parents,” he said.

Mr. Viswanathan said all collectors have been instructed to organize counseling sessions for students with bank managers in their respective districts to help them get loans for higher education.

Asked what efforts his government was making to resolve the deadlock over the appointment of state university vice-chancellors, the minister said the chief minister had convened a meeting to exclusively discuss the issue, which was attended by the advocate general and the higher education secretary. The government took the issue as a political matter and followed the court proceedings. “Two of the vice-chancellors are retiring by the end of the year. There will be no vice-chancellors in any of the state universities by the end of the year,” he said, adding that a decision would be made soon.

In the controversy surrounding the recruitment of assistant professors in government arts and science colleges, the minister said that some candidates have raised complaints that they got ‘0’ marks in the descriptive section of the recruitment exam. He said the Teacher Recruitment Board had a meeting attended by its chairman, the higher education secretary, the school education secretary and experts. The board examines the complaints and submits a report within a day or two, after which a decision will be taken, he added.

Published – 02 Jul 2026 23:36 IST