MGR’s education reforms paved way for higher education growth in T.N.: Minister Sengottaiyan
Tamil Nadu Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management K.A. Sengottaiyan on Friday (July 24, 2026) said the expansion of higher education in Tamil Nadu was
Tamil Nadu Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management K.A. Sengottaiyan on Friday (July 24, 2026) said the expansion of higher education in Tamil Nadu was the result of successive initiatives taken by former Chief Ministers M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) and Jayalalithaa, and assured students that the State government would continue to strengthen educational welfare schemes. Addressing a function at Kavundapadi, the Minister said students had played a key role in his political journey. “Though you did not vote, you made others vote, and it is because of you that I have become a Minister,” he said. Referring to the formation of the government under Chief Minister C.
Joseph Vijay, Mr. Sengottaiyan said the people had voted for a stable government and reposed their faith in his leadership. The Minister said MGR had laid the foundation for the growth of higher education in the State. He said that after returning from a visit to Japan in 1980, MGR, through then Education Minister Aranganayagam, replaced the pre-university course with the Plus Two system, enabling students completing higher secondary education to pursue collegiate studies. The decision to permit self-financing institutions had significantly expanded access to higher education, he said. Tamil Nadu now had 492 engineering colleges, 37 medical and allied institutions, 31 agricultural colleges, and 273 arts and science colleges, and this growth was the result of MGR’s educational policies, he added.
Sengottaiyan said Jayalalithaa had introduced several welfare measures to encourage girls’ education, including fixed deposits of ₹50,000 for girl children and ₹75,000 for orphaned girls to ensure the continuation of their studies. She had also implemented several schemes aimed at women’s empowerment, he added. The Minister said about 91 lakh bicycles had been distributed to students to improve access to schools, particularly for girls in rural areas. The government would also pursue the revival of the free laptop scheme and introduce improved uniforms for students in government schools to enhance their confidence, he said. He assured teachers that the government would address their long-pending demands.
Earlier, in the presence of Collector S. Kandasamy and N.M. Veeraiyan, founder and Chancellor of Saveetha Institute of Medical, Dental, and Technical Sciences, Mr. Sengottaiyan distributed admission cards to six students from the Government Boys’ Higher Secondary School and Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Kavundapadi, who had been selected to pursue higher education free of cost at the institution.
The BriefWire