School and college hostels run by Tamil Nadu govt renamed as Social Justice Hostels

Chennai: School and college hostels run by various departments of the Tamil Nadu government benefiting people from SC/ST, BC, MBC, and denotified communities will be renamed as ‘Social Justice Hostels’, as part of the DMK dispensation’s move to promote equality among students.

Chief Minister M K Stalin, who announced the renaming on Monday, said the decision will lay the foundation for building a “progressive Tamil society” without any caste differences. He added that the goal of the ‘Dravidian Model’ government led by him is to establish social justice, gender justice, and economic justice for all.

The renaming is part of a slew of recommendations by Justice (retired) K Chandru, who was appointed by the Tamil Nadu government to go into the caste violence premating classrooms in the state following the following the hacking of a 17-year-old Dalit students by his classmates from the dominant Maravar community in Nanguneri in Tirunelveli district.

The retired judge had recommended that the government issue an order directing the removal of caste prefixes from school names and must refer to them solely as government schools, followed by their place of location. He also said the the government must impose a stipulation that the school's name shall not bear any caste appellation in the case of establishment of a new educational institute.

Other important recommendations include periodic transfer of high school and higher secondary school teachers, while guidelines must be issued concerning the non-posting of persons belonging to the dominant caste of that area with respect to the posting of officers from the cadre of CEOs, DEOs, BEOs, and headmasters of high and higher secondary schools.

As many as 1.79 lakh students reside in 2,739 hostels in the state with 98,909 students in Adi Dravidar Welfare hostels, 41,194 students (Backward Communities), 26,653 students (Most Backward Communities), 9,372 students (Denotified Communities), 1,250 students (minority communities), and 2,190 (Tribal communities).

The hostels not just provide the students with lodging facilities but also provide special skill training, which have enhanced their learning capabilities, Stalin said.

“…it is essential to eliminate caste sentiments to shape our future society into a progressive one. As a continuation of the various initiatives taken by the Tamil Nadu government with this objective, it has now been decided to change the names of student hostels currently operating under the names of various caste communities,” Stalin added.

Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai came down heavily on the Stalin government on renaming of the hostels saying student hostels across Tamil Nadu are in a state of disrepair, lacking proper maintenance, access to quality drinking water, and clean toilet facilities, with many on the verge of collapse.

“The advertising expenditure for the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department was Rs 1.65 crore for 2023–2024 and Rs 11.48 crore in 2024-25. A few more crores may be accounted for by this name-change publicity, but it will bring no benefit to the students,” he said.