The State Platform for Common School System – Tamil Nadu has urged the State government to give up the idea of building a hostel for working women in the lands owned by the University of Madras.
The government has chosen the site where the university’s Ramanujan Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics is currently functioning.
P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of SPCSS-TN, charged the government had for the past decade paid scant attention to the growth of universities. A fate similar to what befell Tamil University in Thanjavur where a District Collectorate stands now should not befall University of Madras, he said. He recalled the protest to protect Queen Mary’s College from being demolished to pave way for a new Secretariat by the Jayalalithaa government [2001-06].
Already there have been efforts to use Madras University’s lands in Taramani and Chepauk campus for other purposes. He termed taking over lands from educational institutions “a conspiracy to quell social justice”. The idea of building a working women’s hostel has been taken without considering the impact it would have on the women students’ hostel housed in the campus let alone the impact on the university’s abilities to conduct research, Mr. Babu charged.
The government could build a hostel in the Omandurar Government Estate if the aim is to build one in Chepauk just as a portion of the Estate has been given to construct metro rail station, he suggested. The government could also consider shifting the cricket stadium and offer a portion of the land for the hostel, he added.
Published – March 29, 2025 12:59 am IST
