The Sampadak Express News Desk
VIT founder-chancellor G. Viswanathan said on Sunday that falling enrolment in government schools has driven widespread closures across India over the past decade, citing roughly 94,000 schools shut nationally and about 210 in Tamil Nadu. He was speaking at a scholarship distribution event of VIT’s Universal Higher Education Trust (UHET) on the university campus, The Hindu reported.
Viswanathan said the shift of students to private schools has left many government institutions with too few pupils to remain viable. He framed stronger access to education as essential to narrowing economic disparities.
The VIT chancellor also urged better results for India in international sports, calling for closer coordination between the Union government and States to improve performance.
According to VIT, UHET has supported 11,658 students so far with scholarships totaling ₹14.30 crore. At Sunday’s event, assistance was extended to 925 students amounting to ₹87.15 lakh. Abirami Ramanathan, managing director of Abirami Mega Mall, Chennai, and VIT vice-president Sankar Viswanathan attended the programme.
The remarks were delivered on October 18, 2026.
