UWA Chennai campus faces opposition from Tamil Nadu teachers and CPI(M)

The University of Western Australia’s (UWA) new Chennai campus has faced opposition from a government college teachers’ association and the Tamil Nadu unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), days after the university received final approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC) to begin operations in the state.

The Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers’ Association (TNGCTA) has opposed the state government’s decision to permit UWA to establish its Chennai campus, arguing that greater attention should be given to vacancies and other challenges affecting government higher education institutions.

The CPI(M) has separately called for the withdrawal of the approval for the foreign university, arguing that permitting overseas institutions could contribute to the commercialisation and privatisation of higher education.

Teachers raise concerns over fees and faculty vacancies

TNGCTA general secretary S Suresh said the association was concerned about the fees associated with UWA’s programmes and the shortage of permanent faculty in state universities and government colleges.

According to the association, UWA’s fees, ranging from around ₹14 lakh to ₹23 lakh for programmes cited in its statement, could make the university inaccessible to a large section of students.

The association also pointed to faculty shortages in state universities. It cited figures of 180 full-time faculty members against a sanctioned strength of 550 at the University of Madras, 202 against 405 at Madurai Kamaraj University and 119 against 230 at Bharathidasan University.

Suresh further claimed that more than 7,000 teaching posts were vacant across 181 government arts and science colleges in Tamil Nadu. These figures were cited by the teachers’ association in its criticism of the government’s higher education priorities.

CPI(M) seeks withdrawal of approval

The Tamil Nadu CPI(M) has also opposed the UWA campus and urged the Union and state governments to withdraw the approval.

The party said allowing foreign universities while government universities and colleges face faculty shortages could affect access to higher education, reservation and social justice. It also raised concerns about the level of tuition fees at UWA’s Chennai campus.

The CPI(M) cited UWA’s published first-year fees for programmes including an MBA, artificial intelligence, business management and data science.

According to figures cited by the party, these were approximately ₹23.10 lakh for the MBA, ₹17.93 lakh for artificial intelligence, and ₹14.52 lakh each for business management and data science.

The party also claimed that teaching posts remained vacant across Tamil Nadu’s state universities and government arts colleges, and argued that public institutions should be strengthened before encouraging foreign universities.

UWA Chennai campus gets final approval

UWA received final UGC approval for its Chennai international branch campus on Oct 5. The university describes the Chennai campus as the first foreign higher education provider in Tamil Nadu and the first Australian and Group of Eight institution to receive UGC approval in Chennai.

Its initial academic portfolio includes programmes in data science, artificial intelligence, information technology, business and economics. The university has also said its India expansion forms part of an AUD 80 million long-term commitment to wholly owned campuses in the country, following the opening of its Mumbai campus.

The Chennai campus is part of the expansion of foreign university operations in India under the regulatory framework introduced for international branch campuses.

UWA has said its Indian campuses will follow the academic standards and quality assurance frameworks of its Perth campus.

The opposition from teachers and the CPI(M) comes as UWA moves from the approval stage to the start of teaching in Chennai, bringing renewed attention to questions over affordability, public university staffing and the role of foreign institutions in India’s higher education system.