CHENNAI: The higher education department has increased 20% seats in government arts and science colleges for this academic year.
Making the announcement on Monday, Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhiaan said the decision was necessitated as the number of applications for courses in arts and science colleges in the state is much more than that of last year.
This year, 2.04 lakh students applied for admissions in government arts and science colleges. Similarly, government-aided arts and science colleges will be allowed to take in 15% additional candidates, while private colleges will be allowed to hike 10% of their seats.
Notably, this year, 15 new arts and science colleges have been opened in the state. With this, the number of government colleges in the state has reached 179.
The statement issued by higher education department further said various state government schemes have helped students from underprivileged section to pursue higher education.