CHENNAI: A memorial gathering to celebrate the life and contributions of Dr Vasanthi Devi will be held on August 10 at the Tamil Nadu Open University, Saidapet, from 10.30 am to 1 pm.

The programme will feature tributes from School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, former Madras High Court judge Justice K Chandru, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women chairperson AS Kumari, senior academics, and activists.

Dr Vasanthi Devi, who passed away on August 1 at the age of 87, was a respected academic and an advocate for equitable education. She served as vice-chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University from 1992 to 1998, becoming one of the few women to lead a State university in Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, she was principal of the Government College for Women, Kumbakonam, and taught history at Queen Mary's College in Chennai.

From 2002 to 2005, she chaired the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women, focusing on policy reforms and gender justice.

She was also active in several people's movements, advocating for the right to education, opposing the privatisation of schooling, and campaigning against the National Education Policy 2020. She was instrumental in introducing human rights education in school and college curriculum.