The Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Professional Courses on Preferential Basis to Students of Government Schools Act, 2021

What this law does

The Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Professional Courses on Preferential Basis to Students of Government Schools Act, 2021 gives a separate preference in admission to undergraduate professional courses for students who studied in Government schools. The Act says seven and a half per cent of Government seats must be set apart for them on a preferential basis.

The Act states that it came into force at once.

Who it affects

This law matters to:

• students who studied in Government schools in Tamil Nadu
• students from private schools competing for the same professional course seats
• Universities, University colleges and Government colleges
• aided institutions, for seats directed by the Government
• non-minority and minority educational institutions, for the Government seats defined in the Act

Which students qualify

The Act defines students studied in Government schools as children who studied from Sixth standard to Higher Secondary course in a Government school.

Government schools include:

• Government schools
• Corporation schools
• Municipal schools
• Panchayat Union schools
• Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare schools
• Kallar Reclamation schools
• Forest Department schools
• other schools managed by Government departments

The Act also includes certain children from weaker section and disadvantaged group categories who studied up to Eighth standard in a specified category school or an unaided school under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and then studied all remaining standards up to Higher Secondary course in a Government school.

Which seats and courses are covered

Government seats mean:

• all seats in undergraduate professional courses in Universities, University colleges and Government colleges
• such number of seats in aided institutions as may be directed by the Government
• 65 per cent of seats in undergraduate professional courses in non-minority educational institutions
• 50 per cent of such seats in minority educational institutions, or the seats arrived at by consensus between those institutions and the Government

Undergraduate professional courses include the first year of Bachelor of Engineering, Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Fisheries Science and Law, and other professional courses notified by the Government.

Important admission rules

• Government school students get the seven and a half per cent preferential share of Government seats.
• Government school students can still compete for the other Government seats along with private school students.
• Admission under this preference must follow the reservation law in force.
• If enough eligible Government school students are not available, the unfilled preferential seats go to students who studied in private schools.
• The Government may make rules, issue directions and publish orders in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette to implement the Act.