Tamil Nadu Budget 2026-27: Higher Education Allocation Drops by ₹101 Crore, Experts Alarmed
The Tamil Nadu government's Budget for 2026-27 has allocated ₹8,393 crore to the Higher Education Department, a reduction of ₹101 crore from the previous fiscal year. The cut has drawn sharp reactions from educationists and activists, who argue that the funding is insufficient to address the mounting challenges facing public universities.
Presenting the budget in the Assembly, State Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson outlined several new initiatives, including a ₹2,000 crore allocation for the 'Vetri Laptop Scheme' for college students. He also announced the establishment of a specialised government law college in Madurai with an intake of 300 students, and the creation of the Tamil Nadu Student Housing and Infrastructure Corporation. This corporation will build 200 integrated students' hostels with one lakh beds through a public-private partnership (PPP) model, at a total capital outlay of ₹3,200 crore, with a State grant of ₹640 crore.
Budget documents indicate that the grant to universities has increased from ₹1,678 crore last fiscal to ₹1,807 crore this year. There is also a marginal increase in the allocation for payment of fees for students admitted under the 7.5% horizontal reservation scheme, which provides preferential allotment to students who studied in government schools from Class VI to Class XII.
Reacting to the budget, G. Thiruvasagam, former vice-chancellor of the University of Madras, said that Tamil Nadu's 20-odd universities have more than 50% vacancies in faculty positions. 'If the government seeks to fill up the vacancies, the allocation will not be enough,' he said. The shortfall is currently being managed with part-time faculty, which has adversely impacted research, publication, pedagogy and instruction.
Although Tamil Nadu's universities and colleges have fared better than others in the country in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), poor funding from the government has begun to take a toll. 'All universities are low on resources. The allocation would not even meet a fraction of their requirement,' Dr. Thiruvasagam asserted. He noted that public universities are losing students to private institutions because of better infrastructure, laboratory facilities and technology-oriented teaching materials there. 'If we are to attract better and more students to our universities, we need to increase funding several times,' he added.
P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of the State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu, raised concerns over the cost of accommodation and food at the hostels to be built under the PPP model. He said there is a significant risk that it would impose a heavy financial burden on both students and parents, especially first-generation learners and women students. The decrease in allocation to higher education at a time when universities are facing a financial crisis contradicts the government's stated policy of strengthening higher education, he added.
The revised budget comes amid broader fiscal pressures. While the new schemes have been welcomed, critics argue that the overall reduction in the departmental outlay undermines the promise of improved higher education. The increased grant to universities is a positive step, they say, but more sustained investment is required to tackle faculty shortages and infrastructure gaps.
As the budget moves to discussion in the Assembly, educationists are likely to press for a reversal of the cut and a long-term roadmap for funding public higher education institutions, which remain central to Tamil Nadu's educational and social development.
