Tamil Nadu class 12 results on Monday were followed by another big announcement by the state's Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi. The application process for admission into arts, science, and engineering colleges starts on July 26 and the last date to apply is August 24.

The move comes before the CBSE class 12 results are announced. K Ponmudi had earlier said that admissions will begin only after July 31. This was after there were several complaints that private institutions had begun the admission process even before the class 12 results were out. 

He told the media that colleges cannot conduct entrance tests to admit students in advance. He warned of strict action against private institutions that would continue to admit students before the announcement of class 12 results.  “Colleges need to consider CBSE and state board Class XII marks to rank students for giving admissions. These two boards will finalise the marks before July 31. So, admissions to government, government-aided colleges and private colleges will start only after July 31,” he had earlier said. 

It is to note that polytechnic admissions had started across the state for students much earlier as eligibility for diploma courses is based on marks scored in class 9. The last date to apply for polytechnic programmes was July 12, it was later extended to July 19.