The Association of University Teachers (AUT) Tamil Nadu has demanded that any proposal for the alienation of property of existing private colleges must be dealt under the Tamil Nadu Private Colleges Regulations (TNPCR) Act, 1976. The association urged the government to take a stern decision that the spacious campus ambience should not be disturbed by the desires of commercial enterprises.The Higher Education Department, in a letter dated March 10, 2026, replied to the request of the Association of Management of Private Colleges to revise and reduce to 2, 3, and 5 acres in lieu of 3, 5, and 10 acres of land in metro/municipal and panchayat areas, respectively, on par with the requirement of land fixed for the Private Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu, established prior to the academic year 2014-15. The Department said that the proposal would be examined at the government level, and orders will be issued on a case-to-case basis.Meanwhile, AUT State general secretary K. Raja stated that in the context of a direction from the High Court, the above seemingly innocuous request was made with a specific intention to enable existing colleges, to utilise the surplus/excess land, as per revised norms, for other unspecified purposes. He added that the AUT points out that any private college in Tamil Nadu is governed under the TNPCR Act and is shocking as to how a legal proposal of alienation of property of an existing private college could be casually disposed of without reference to the provisions of the TNPCR Act, 1976,” Mr. Raja said.Stating that education under the government-aided stream should not be equated with the self-financing stream, Mr. Raja emphasised that cost and effect come into play in the latter. Recent pronouncements of courts also strengthen the fact that temple lands and its money shall not be utilised for the purpose of establishing colleges under a self-financing stream. “Then, how can lands, donated by philanthropists for the cause of education, be alienated for commercial purposes?” he questioned.He stated that the minimum requirement of land, such as 3/5/10 acres, is meant only for a few initial courses. In due course of time, many more courses of study would be introduced for more students, creating a need for more space for the expansion based on student strength. “The question of excess or surplus land is anathema to the concept of education,” he said, urging the Department to deal with the alienation of property under the TNPCR Act. Published - March 21, 2026 08:23 pm IST