The members of the Madurai Kamaraj, Manonmaniam Sundaranar, Mother Teresa, Alagappa, Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Education and Anna University Teachers’ Association (MUTA) have expressed their objection to the Tamil Nadu Private Universities (Amendment) Bill passed in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Friday (October 17, 2025).
“While the Act passed in the Legislative Assembly in 2019 opened avenues for the creation of new private universities in Tamil Nadu, the DMK, which was then sitting in the Opposition, had strongly opposed it. Today, the 2025 amendment was even more dangerous than the Act itself,” a press statement of the MUTA said.
“The amendment is being brought with the clear intention of converting government-aided colleges, which currently functions with grants from the Tamil Nadu Government, into private universities, thereby turning public property into private property,” it added.
While it would affect the students in many ways, the major blow would be to free education, which is currently being provided in government-aided colleges on par with the government colleges. “The amendment would firstly deny the opportunity for the students to study under the free education policy,” it added.
“Secondly, the education institutions, founded by great philanthropists for the noble goal of serving the poor and marginalised, would be in danger of becoming private commercial enterprises,” MUTA noted.
“On one side, the free education system would be scrapped, and on the other side, the fees collected from the students would increase manifold, making higher education an unattainable dream for many students. Opportunities like reservation-based student admission, scholarships, and various other benefits, like those available in government colleges, will be lost. Social Justice will be pushed into a permanent grave,” the statement contended.
Other downfalls in the education system owing to the amendment would be lack of transparency in administration, loss of admission based on merit/social justice reservation, legal recognition of fee plundering activities of private institutions, discontinuation of various courses for commercial well-being, reversal of the State’s student average in higher education, among others.
“The amendment would equally reverse the respectful treatment rendered to the teachers and employees in government and government-aided colleges,” the statement noted.
“Not only will the teacher and employee appointments be made at the discretion of the private management without any regulations, the job security of existing teachers in government-aided colleges will also jeopardised,” it charged.
The amendment would also make the Private College Regulation Act, 1976 enacted to regularise the service conditions of teachers and employees defunct.
“There will be no reservation whatsoever in teacher and employee appointments. The direct salary system for aided teachers and employees, achieved through the sacrifices of the working class, will no longer be available,” the statement listed out.
Teachers feared numerous rights and benefits, including medical leave, earned leave, commuted leave, dearness allowance, pension, family pension, medical insurance, and many more, would be snatched away from them.
The statement observed that a large portion of the infrastructure in government-aided colleges created with financial assistance with the support of the University Grants Commission and other State and Union Government schemes would be handed over to private players.
“It is an unacceptable atrocity to hand over national wealth created with the tax money of the Union, State Governments, and the public, as well as human capital, including the research, discoveries, and copyrights of experienced teachers and Ph.D. scholars, to private entities,” the statement added.
As MUTA strongly condemned the amendment proposal, which was anti-social justice, it urged the Tamil Nadu Government to completely abandon the Bill, which affects students, teachers, employees, and the society at large.
Published – October 19, 2025 03:18 pm IST