7.5 per cent quota: Govt to bear expenses of students joining professional courses, says TN CM

The Tamil Nadu government will bear the tuition fees among others of students enrolling in professional courses in the State under the 7.5 percent quota in professional courses, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Monday.

The Tamil Nadu government had last month set apart 7.5 percent reservation on a ''preferential basis'' to state government school students for their admissions to engineering, agriculture, veterinary, law, and other professional degree courses offered in government, aided, and private institutions.

Handing over admission orders to 50 engineering aspirants here to mark the rollout, Stalin said 10,000 government school students aspiring for engineering courses would benefit from the reservation in the current academic year while 350 others would enter agriculture, veterinary, fishery, and law courses.

''The government has come forward to bear the tuition fees, hostel fees, and even counseling fees for students of government schools entering professional colleges via the 7.5 percent quota,'' the chief minister said.

The reservation was part of the ruling DMK's attempt to ensure quality higher education for students studying in state-run schools, especially in rural areas, Stalin added.

Students who had studied from classes VI to XII in such schools will benefit from the new quota, he said.