TN Govt striving to provide access to higher education for all, says CM

Giving away assistive devices developed by college students to persons with disabilities, the CM said it was the DMK’s aim to ensure all branches of study were accessible to all students

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin gave away assistive devices and other equipment developed by students of the Meenakshi Sundararajan Engineering College to beneficiaries on Saturday at the college campus.

Among the innovative projects were a smart stick for the visually impaired which is fitted with a sensor to detect hurdles, a wheelchair with a canopy which will help users stay protected from rain and sun, and a software for the visually impaired to convert speech to text as well as a text to speech convertor for hearing-impaired persons.

“It is admirable that students examined such needs of people and have come up with effective solutions for the same. These low-cost inventions will be greatly beneficial for people and I hope that they continue to work on such projects,” Mr. Stalin said. 

Speaking about the State government’s vision on higher education, he said, “It is the aim of the DMK that all branches of study are accessible to all students. To ensure that medical education is accessible to students from poor backgrounds is why the government has also been opposed to NEET.” 

Mr. Stalin said that at least 30 institutions from Tamil Nadu found a place among 100 renowned institutions across the country for providing quality education. “Tamil Nadu is a pioneer when it comes to education and so many youngsters who have benefited from higher education here are working across the world,” he said.

Speaking about the societal beneficial innovation projects, N. Sreekanth, College Director, said that the projects were conceived of by the students for the benefit of the community. “This year, there was a focus on persons with disabilities. Students identified their needs and worked on solutions for the same through their projects. We have identified 300 beneficiaries who will receive the devices that the students have come up with,” he said.