The Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department has been grappling with low enrolment in basic science courses in many government colleges over the past few years.For the past two years, a total of 20 colleges did not receive even a single student for some of the basic science courses.With admissions for the academic year 2026-27 under way, the 181 government arts and science colleges in the State have managed to fill a little under 65% of the seats. Out of a total sanctioned strength of 1,26,959, the colleges have, till July 8, admitted 81,734 students, of whom 49,087 are women.However, government arts and science colleges in Udhagamandalam, Valparai, Ariyalur, Orathanadu, Kanniyakumari, Thittakudi, Kumarapalayam, Manalmedu, Ramanathapuram, Nagercoil, Mudhukulathur, Thalavadi, Aravakurichi, Koothanallur, Tharapuram, and Eriyur have so far not received a single enrolment for either Mathematics, or Physics, or both subjects. Besides, Sethupathi Government Arts College, Ramanathapuram; Arignar Anna Government Arts College, Namakkal; Rajaduraisingam Government Arts College, Sivaganga; and Thirumagal Mills Government College, Gudiyatham also recorded zero enrolment. Notably, these colleges drew a blank in basic sciences in the last academic year as well. Sources said zero enrolment had been recorded in 17 Mathematics Departments and seven Physics Departments in these colleges, which means that in some of the colleges, both the departments drew a blank. Five of these colleges were set up in 2022.This has prompted officials to look at different ways to attract students to colleges. In October last year, the government had increased the age limit for admission to undergraduate courses in government arts and science colleges from 21 years to 40 years. This year, 609 men, 1,000 women, and four transpersons in this age category have enrolled so far. “We have seen many married women joining different undergraduate courses, which is positive,” an official said.Low enrolment in basic sciences has been a problem for the past five years or so, but it has become acute in the past couple of years.The officials were also considering “rationalising” the number of teachers in the government institutions. While it was imperative for the government to provide teaching facilities even if one student had enrolled in a course, zero enrolment may prompt the department to merge courses with those in neighbouring colleges and redistribute the teachers, an official said. However, they weren’t contemplating closure of courses just as yet, especially since there has to be at least three years of zero enrolment for a course to be considered for closure. “The admission process is still on. We are hopeful,” an official added.The Department has also decided to start new B.Sc. courses in Data Scinece, Visual Communications, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Nutrition and Dietetics, Catering Technology, Computer Science with Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Geomorphology in select colleges with the hope of pushing up enrolment gradually. Published - July 09, 2026 08:47 pm IST