The AIADMK coordinator, O Panneerselvam, on Thursday came down on Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for describing the reign of M. Karunanidhi as the golden era for higher education.
Referring to Mr. Stalin’s speech at the convocation of the Madras University, Mr. Panneerselvam, in a statement, gave an elaborate account of achievements of the State when the AIADMK was in power. It was the party founder M.G. Ramachandran, who, as Chief Minister, revamped the noon meal scheme. Jayalalithaa, who followed his political path, had always encouraged higher education.
In medical education, 22 medical colleges, including 11 in one year, were established during the AIADMK rule. In engineering education, government colleges were set up in Tirunelveli, Krishnagiri, Erode, Theni, Dharmapuri, Thanjavur and Tiruchi, apart from forming a university named after former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai.
In respect of legal studies, eight out of 16 law colleges were created when the AIADMK was in power. The Tamil Nadu National Law University was set up in 2012.
It was on account of various such measures that the gross enrolment ratio went up from 32.9% in 2010-11 to 51.4% in 2019-20, Mr. Panneerselvam said, accusing the Chief Minister of suppressing all these facts. It seemed that the act of appropriating credit for the work done by others formed part of the ‘Dravidian model’.
