Born with 10 siblings in a poor tribal family in a remote hamlet on the Bargur Hills in Erode district of Tamil Nadu, all that U. Chandran wanted after completing Class 12 was to pursue a degree programme in agriculture or veterinary science.
“My family did cattle rearing and farming, in which I also took part. Naturally, I was inclined to become a trained professional in that field,” he said.
After studying in a school run under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) for few years, Chandran subsequently stayed in a Tribal Welfare department-run hostel to complete Class 12 by specialising in the vocational stream — Agricultural Practices — in 2019.
Despite scoring 98% in core subjects and 74% in total in Class 12, Chandran could not get admission to the courses he wanted due to the systemic unfairness in the admission processes of Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) towards students from vocational streams.
While the seat arithmetic in TANUVAS did not allow the reservation of a single seat for a tribal student from the vocational stream, TNAU allowed vocational stream students only in its own colleges and not in its affiliated colleges. Even in its own colleges, TNAU did not apply reservation policies in the admission of vocational stream students.
Back to cattle rearing
Dejected with not being able to get a seat, Chandran went back to cattle rearing in his village while occasionally working as a labourer in textile companies in the region in the last three years. “I did not think that I will be good at any other course. So, I went back to cattle rearing to support my family,” says Chandran.
With the encouragement of the non-governmental organisation Sudar that has helped in his education since school, Chandran applied every year to TNAU and TANUVAS since 2019, only to get rejected.
“I had lost all hope. I began to think that my life was going to be just cattle rearing in Sundaipodu [his hamlet],” he said. A few months ago, Chandran lost his father. C. Natraj, director of Sudar, said Chandran’s family had also lost hope about his education. “There is no cellphone connectivity in his village. Whenever I go to his hamlet to meet him and give him some hope, his mother used to express disappointment about this ‘pointless’ pursuit,” he said.
Just when Chandran was about to give up his dream, he has secured a seat in the Kumaraguru Institute of Agriculture this year, thanks to the efforts of Sudar and few other activists and intervention from the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s office.
HC ruling
The Madras High Court, in a case filed by one Su. Moorthy, had ruled last year that TNAU should admit vocational stream students in its affiliated colleges. While the court ordered the implementation from the next academic year, an intervention from the Chief Minister’s Office ensured implementation in the present year itself, thereby enabling Chandran to get admission.
When media reports in 2019 revealed Chandran’s plight, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who was then the Leader of the Opposition, met him and assured support in his fight. “I am glad and thankful that he remembered me after three years,” Chandran said. Mr. Stalin met Chandran at his office on Wednesday and congratulated him on his admission. Chandran said the Chief Minister asked him not to worry about the financial needs to complete his course.
