Chennai, Sept 9:
The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday passed the Tamil Nadu Private Universities Amendment Bill, 2026, despite opposition from the CPM and PMK, with the legislation seeking to substantially reduce the land and endowment requirements for establishing private universities in the State.
The Bill reduces the minimum land requirement to 12 acres within Greater Chennai Corporation limits, 18 acres in other municipal corporations and municipal councils, and 25 acres in other areas. It also proposes reducing the mandatory permanent endowment fund from Rs 50 crore to Rs 25 crore.
The legislation revives a proposal that had earlier been withdrawn by the previous DMK government following strong opposition from political parties and other stakeholders.
The latest amendment is based on recommendations of a Task Force on Compliance Reduction and Deregulation constituted by the Union government and headed by the Cabinet Secretary. The task force had recommended removing minimum land and endowment requirements for higher educational institutions.
However, the proposal faced opposition both from parties opposed to the ruling TVK and from some of its supporting allies.
CPI MLA K Marimuthu opposed the Bill, arguing that reducing the requirements could lead to greater commercialisation of education and affect the principle of social justice.
PMK MLA A Ganeshkumar also opposed the amendment. He expressed concern that reducing the land requirement could result in universities being established without adequate infrastructure and facilities. He also objected to the reduction in the endowment fund requirement from Rs 50 crore to Rs 25 crore.
Defending the legislation, Higher Education Minister Viswanathan said the amendments were intended to facilitate the establishment of world-class private universities in Tamil Nadu.
The proposal had first been introduced by the previous DMK regime but was withdrawn in February 2026 after facing opposition from political parties and stakeholders.
The TVK government subsequently revived the proposal in an amended form and secured its passage despite resistance from parties supporting the government.