Chennai: At least four private colleges that exploited legal loopholes to gain deemed university status, sidestepping the state’s seat-sharing rules and fee caps, are managed or owned by DMK or AIADMK leaders, health minister K G Arunraj said Wednesday.At least 462 govt-quota MBBS seats and 35 seats reserved for govt-school students under the 7.5% quota, along with management-quota and BDS seats, are likely to be stripped from the state’s seat matrix, since allotments to deemed universities are made by the Centre’s medical counselling committee. “Two more colleges have applied for deemed status,” Arunraj said, adding that the institutions are owned or managed by leaders of Dravidian parties.First, two of the colleges bypassed the state altogether, going straight to national regulators for approval. Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Institute of Medical Sciences and Srinivasan Medical College, both previously classified as state private universities, were granted deemed status without the state’s knowledge; the govt learnt of it only two days ago, when the National Medical Commission listed them as deemed universities, Arunraj said. The state will move a writ petition seeking cancellation of the new status. “The college owned by DMK MLA S Kathiravan (Manachanallur) never applied for an NOC, yet it is listed as a deemed university. They used procedural loopholes to bypass the process and went directly to the UGC,” Arunraj said, violating state rights and social justice. “They are denying meritorious and govt school students their seats,” he said.The DMK govt also ignored mandatory procedures and failed to act on legal options in time. Karpaga Vinayaga sought clearance from Anna University for its engineering programmes and Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University for its medical college, on June 7, 2023, but neither responded within the mandated 60-day window. “So, as per the rules, it was deemed granted. It did not end there,” Arunraj said. “Three months later, in Sept 2023, the DMK govt issued the NOC. For reasons unclear, it was revoked two months later. The college moved the court and got an order in its favour since no reply had been given within 60 days. The govt did not appeal the ruling.”St Peter’s Medical College’s application was decided within the mandated period in Dec 2023; it was communicated six days late. The college moved the Delhi high court and secured a favourable order. The state has appealed against this order, he said. Two other applicant institutions received no response within the deadline, and their NOCs were deemed granted by default.The minister called the pattern evidence of political bias in vetting such applications. Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, now run by a five-member committee, will issue a speaking order to ensure future NOC applications receive timely replies — closing the loophole that let these colleges slip through.The state will also negotiate with the Centre for legislative amendments while pursuing that legal route. “We want the govt to withdraw the amendments issued in the May 2026 notification and amend the UGC Act to restore state powers,” he said. A permanent fix would require moving education to the concurrent list. But as an interim step, the state is pursuing fee caps for deemed-university colleges and seat-sharing arrangements similar to Karnataka’s system, he said.(Students facing excessive fees or denied stipends at these institutions can file anonymous complaints with the state’s 104 helpline, the minister said)
