ERODE: Tired of legal struggles because of a technical glitch in the admission quota, U Chandran’s hopes of becoming a veterinary doctor was becoming distant with every passing day. The tribal student from the remote village of Sundaipodu in Bargur in Erode district has now appealed to CM MK Stalin to help him get a seat in the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), this year at least.
Twenty-year-old U Chandran lives in a hut in his village, that is difficult to reach and has no mobile signal. He belongs to the Cholagar tribal community and lives with his parents and nine siblings. Rescued from child labour, Chandran studied at a special school run under the National Child Labour Project in Kongadai, and was later mainstreamed. He was the first person to complete class 12 from his village and scored 444 marks out of 600, studying Agriculture Practices, a vocational discipline, in a government school in Gobichettipalayam.
Chandran then, applied for the Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry course, offered by TANUVAS in 2019-20. As per the rank list, he was placed at 146th position among all the vocational stream candidates and in the ST category, he secured the first rank.
However, Chandran couldn’t get the seat as TANUVAS allocates only 5 per cent (18 seats) of the 360 seats to students studying vocational courses. Of those 18 seats, only one per cent is allocated to tribal students, that is 0.18 seat. Considering this, the university took the stand that ST category student will not be eligible, as a result of which tribal students from remote areas are unable to get admission.
‘I hoped to become the first graduate from here’
The situation is similar in the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), where one per cent of 45 seats, reserved for vocational students, are allocated to tribal students. While Chandran approached the Madras High Court seeking both universities to allocate at least one seat to tribal students as well as increase the reservation for vocational students, the court dismissed the petition.
Following this, Chandran approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with a petition, where TATANUVAS said that they could allot a seat to a community only if they had a more than 0.5 per cent seats. NHRC then ordered TATANUVAS to consider 0.18 per cent seat as one seat and provide admission to Chandran within 15 days.
However, it has not happened yet. “I have 11 siblings and two of them are married. I live with my parents in the village. Our family owns 0.75 cent land and eight cows. I hoped to become the first graduate from the village and was interested in cattle research. I am currently helping my father herd the cattle,” said Chandran. “As the university is refusing to consider the 0.18 seat, tribal students are finding it very difficult to get admission.
Instead, the university should admit one tribal student at least once in three or four years,” he added. When Chandran met Stalin in 2019, when he was the Opposition leader, the latter had assured to help him legally. “Now that he is the Chief Minister, we hope he will help Chandran get the seat,” said Natraj, who runs an NGO, Sudar.