Tamil Nadu CM inaugurates 11 new government arts and science colleges; operational from 2025-26

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin inaugurated 11 new government arts and science colleges through video conferencing on Monday, May 26 . Each new college will begin operations with five departments and 3,050 seats from the forthcoming academic year, 2025-26. Taken together, the 11 colleges will add 33,550 seats to the state’s undergraduate intake.

Each college has been sanctioned 12 assistant professors and 14 non-teaching staff each, creating 132 teaching positions and 154 non-teaching positions in Tamil Nadu. The government budget for the first year of these colleges has been set at Rs 25.27 crore.

“This investment has been made for the upliftment of the rural and economically disadvantaged sections, while providing them with better higher education infrastructure,” said a statement from the Tamil Nadu government.

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New Tamil Nadu colleges

All the 11 arts and science colleges are strategically located in different districts of Tamil Nadu, so as to achieve maximum reach, the statement said.

The colleges are situated in the following districts:

1. Panruti – Cuddalore District

2. Coonoor – Nilgiris District

3. Natham – Dindigul District

4. Alandur – Chennai District

5. Vikravandi – Villupuram District

6. Cheyyur – Chengalpattu District

7. Manamadurai – Sivagangai District

8. Muthupettai – Tiruvarur District

9. Thiruvidaimarudur – Thanjavur District

10. Kolakkanatham – Perambalur District

11. Ottapidaram – Thoothukudi District

The inauguration of the new institutes takes the total count of government colleges in Tamil Nadu to 176. These colleges will begin functioning from the 2025-26 academic year and 3,050 students are expected to benefit from each college in the first year itself, the statement added.

The virtual inauguration event was headed by chief minister M.K. Stalin, and attended by several key figures in politics and education: deputy chief minister - Udhayanidhi Stalin, minister for higher education - K. Ponmudi, minister for industries, investment promotion & commerce - T.R.B. Rajaa, chief secretary - N. Muruganandam, secretary of higher education - C. Samayamoorthy, commissioner of collegiate education - E. Sundaravalli, and chief engineer of public works department - V. Sukumaran.