Chennai: Tamil Nadu has the maximum 59 universities in the country and there was no need for a new one, the government informed the Assembly on Thursday.
Replying to a call attention brought by JG Prince (Congress), who sought the government to establish a new university for Kanyakumari district, Higher Education Minister P Palaniappan said there were 59 universities across the state against the total 678 in the country.
Compared to Uttar Pradesh (53 varsities for 19.98 crore population), united Andhra Pradesh (43 for 13 crore), Maharashtra (41 for 11 crore), Madhya Pradesh (27 for six crore), West Bengal (23 for nine crore), Bihar (18 for 10 crore), Tamil Nadu had a better ratio of 59 universities for six crore population, he said.
Tamil Nadu also had the highest number of state universities in the country (24), he said, adding, there were separate universities in the state for music, sports, and fisheries.
