CHENNAI: The State government on Friday (February 20) withdrew the contentious Tamil Nadu Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which had been passed by the Assembly last year.
The Bill, which proposed reducing the minimum land requirement for establishing private universities in the State, was passed by the House on October 17, 2025.
It was then sent for review on a directive from Chief Minister MK Stalin on October 25, following stiff opposition from various quarters, including political leaders and academics,
The amendment was introduced to ease procedures for private institutions seeking private university status and for proposals to establish new private universities.
It also sought to insert the concept of 'brownfield universities' into the Tamil Nadu Private Universities Act, 2019, allowing existing government-aided and private colleges with established infrastructure to be converted into universities.
However, the Bill retained the requirement of a minimum contiguous land area of 100 acres for establishing private universities, posing a major hurdle for setting up new private universities and upgrading existing colleges, officials had said.
(With Bureau inputs)