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Thursday, July 9, 2026

NEWS TODAY 09.07.2026

State government to take legal action over deemed university status for three private medical colleges

Health Minister K.G. Arunraj

at the inauguration of the NalamAI WhatsApp chatbot service.B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI. 09.07.2026

With three private medical colleges obtaining ‘deemed to be university’ status, Tamil Nadu will lose 461 medical seats from the State quota, Health Minister K.G. Arunraj said on Wednesday. He added that the State government was exploring legal action, and would file a writ petition soon.

Two days ago, the State government came to know from the website of the National Medical Commission that Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital, and St. Peter’s Medical College had been granted deemed university status, he said.

As a result, the State will lose 461 seats from its pool, Dr. Arunraj said, adding: “These institutions will no longer be required to follow the reservation policy, 7.5% horizontal reservation for government school students, or adhere to the fee structure prescribed by the State government. Instead, they could fill MBBS and BDS seats independently.” Additionally, 35 seats under the 7.5% quota would be lost, he said.

The State government will also take up the issue with the Centre to make a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the State government mandatory for private medical colleges to obtain deemed university status, he said.

“Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College and Srinivasan Medical College are owned by DMK MLA Kathiravan. As they fall under the Tamil Nadu Private University category, they did not apply for NOC with the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, and applied directly to the University Grants Commission,” he told reporters after inaugurating facilities at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.

The deemed university status had been granted to St. Peter’s Medical College, Hosur, subject to an appeal filed by the Government of Tamil Nadu, he said. Karpaga Vinayaga Medical College had also applied for the status, he added.

Explaining the process, the Minister said private institutions seeking deemed university status must first obtain an NOC from their affiliated university. The affiliated university is required to issue the NOC within 60 days, failing which it shall be deemed to have been granted as per UGC rules.

In June 2023, the Karpaga Vinayaga institution, which has an engineering college and a medical college, had applied to Anna University and Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University for an NOC.

However, no action was taken for 60 days. The NOC was issued in September 2023 during the previous regime, and the same was revoked two months later. The institution approached the High Court, and in April 2025, the court ruled that as the NOC was not issued within 60 days, it was deemed to have been issued as per UGC rules. No appeal was filed against the order by the previous government, he said.

The Minister also launched NalamAI, a WhatsApp chatbot service. The service, available on 96192 22999, has been introduced in 22 districts, where the public can generate the outpatient slips without having to wait in queues.

Four pvt colleges exploited legal loopholes: Min ‘Owned By DMK, AIADMK Leaders’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 09.07.2026

Chennai : At least four private colleges that exploited legal loopholes to gain deemed university status, sidestepping the state’s seat-sharing rules and fee caps, are managed or owned by leaders of DMK or AIADMK, health minister K G Arunraj said Wednesday.

At least 462 govt-quota MBBS seats and 35 seats reserved for govt-school students under the 7.5% quota, along with management-quota and BDS seats, are likely to be stripped from the state’s seat matrix, since allotments to deemed universities are made by the Centre’s medical counselling committee.

“Two more colleges have applied for deemed status,” Arunraj said. First, two of the colleges by passed the state altogether, going straight to national regulators for approval. Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Institute of Medical Sciences and Srinivasan Medical College, both previously classified as state private universities, were granted deemed status without the state’s knowledge; the govt learnt of it only two days ago, Arunraj said.

The state will move a writ petition seeking cancellation of the new status. “The college owned by DMK MLA S Kathiravan (Manachanallur) never applied for an NOC, yet it is listed as a deemed university. They used procedural loopholes to bypass the process and approached the UGC directly,” Arunraj said.

“They violated state rights and social justice. “They are denying meritorious and govt school students their seats,” he added. The DMK govt also ignored mandatory procedures and failed to act on legal options in time. Karpaga Vinayaga sought clearance from Anna University for its engineering programmes and Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University for its medical college, on June 7, 2023. But neither responded within the mandated 60-day window. “So, as per the rules, it was deemed granted. Three months later, the DMK govt issued the NOC.

For reasons unclear, it was revoked two months later. The college moved the court and got an order in its favour since no reply was given within 60 days. The govt did not appeal the ruling,” Arunraj said. St Peter’s Medical College’s application was decided within the mandated period in Dec 2023; but it was communicated six days late. The college moved Delhi high court and secured a favourable order. The state has appealed against this order, he said. Two other institutions received no response within the deadline, and their NOCs were deemed granted by default.

The minister called the pattern evidence of political bias in vetting such applications. The state will negotiate with the Centre for legislative amendments while pursuing that legal route. “We want the govt to withdraw the amendments issued in the May 2026 notification and amend the UGC Act to restore state powers,” he said.

A permanent fix would require moving education to the state list. But as an interim step, the state is pursuing fee caps for deemed-university colleges and seat-sharing arrangements similar to Karnataka’s system, he said. Students facing excessive fees or denied stipends at these institutions can file anonymous complaints with the state’s 104 helpline, the minister added

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

NEWS TODAY 08.07.2026

TN mulls legal action over deemed univ tag for med colleges

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 08.07.2026

Chennai : Tamil Nadu is considering legal action, including moving the Supreme Court early next week, after some medical colleges in the state were granted ‘deemed university’ status — a change that could wipe out state quota seats and reshape access to medical education across the region.

Officials said that while 650 MBBS seats are likely to be removed from the state’s seat matrix since allotments to deemed universities are handled by the Centre, three more colleges have told the govt that they are expected to be added to the list soon. These institutions will no longer be obligated to reserve seats for students admitted through the state’s counselling process. “This will mean at least 700 govt quota seats, and more than 50 seats meant for govt school students, will be affected,” a senior health department official said.

On Tuesday, after day-long discussions with legal experts, a senior legal officer questioned how these institutions were granted the permission, since UGC norms for this status require a high NAAC grade across three cycles, or NBA accreditation for two thirds of programmes, or a top 100 overall or top-50 discipline-specific NIRF ranking for three consecutive years.

While a legal challenge may take months to resolve, student counsellors and academicians have urged the govt to rein in fees at deemed institutions, as directed by the HC. The state has no control over fees charged by deemed universities, since they fall outside state fee committee’s purview. Under the existing structure, the committee fixed annual MBBS tuition for govt quota seats in self-financing colleges and private universities at ₹4.35 lakh to ₹5.40 lakh, and for management-quota seats at ₹15 lakh to ₹16.2 lakh.

The Centre has not fixed tuition fees for deemed universities, which charge between ₹20 lakh and ₹35 lakh a year. “Earlier, an association of private universities moved the court to prevent this from being implemented. For some reason, that case was withdrawn. So the state or the Centre must now implement the high court order,” said N Narendran, a NEET coach. If the govt cannot immediately regulate fees, experts want it to adopt Karnataka’s approach.

“In Karnataka, deemed universities continue sharing seats with the state govt despite their elevated status. At least six of the 12 deemed universities share around 188 seats with the state quota, at fees ranging from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹6 lakh,” said student counsellor Manickavel Arumugam. “That’s one way to ensure meritorious and govt school students passing out this year are not punished,” he said.

“For many meritorious students from modest backgrounds, this is a critical pathway into medicine, as they can only afford subsidised, govt-regulated seats,” he added. The state medical university, meanwhile, is appealing to UGC and NMC, stating that it never issued a no-objection certificate for the change in affiliation to these institutions.