CHENNAI: The number of first-generation graduate students admitted to engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu has risen to 1.56 lakh over the past four years since 2021-22, thanks to a fee concession scheme started by the State’s Higher Education Department.
A senior official of the department said the State government had rolled out several initiatives to enable students from all sections of society to pursue professional courses. One such measure was the tuition fee concession extended to first-generation graduate students admitted to the first year and direct second year of engineering programmes in all colleges across the state through the single-window counselling system.
The objective of the scheme was not only to ensure that students completed their courses without dropping out midway but also to improve their employment prospects after graduation, the official said.
The government has been spending more than Rs 350 crore annually on the scheme since 2021-22. While 1,46,559 students benefited in the initial years, the number rose to 1,56,125 in 2024-25, involving an expenditure of Rs 379 crore.
To avail the concession, eligible students are required to obtain a ‘No Graduate in the Family’ certificate from the competent revenue authority. The official said procedures for securing the necessary documents had been simplified, significantly easing the financial burden on parents.
The concession is also applicable to students enrolling in self-financing engineering colleges, whether accredited or non-accredited. Such students receive a fee concession ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 27,500, with the waived amount reimbursed to the institutions by the Directorate of Technical Education.
The official said the scheme had largely benefited students from rural and remote parts of the State and contributed to an increase in engineering admissions. To ensure transparency, the entire process, from registration to the grant of the concession, is carried out online.