COIMBATORE: Students currently pursuing medicine under the 7.5% quota extended to government school students demanded the state government to resume the distribution of free tablets, the portable electronic device, so that their studies benefit.
They said a state scheme to provide tablets has been stalled for the last three years.
The government, meanwhile, plans to distribute free laptops to final-year students of government colleges as well as those studying final-year medicine at private colleges under this quota.
Offering laptops is intended to assist students as they transition from college to their professional careers. However, medical and dental students are demanding that the government provide electronic tablets instead, as they believe these devices would better support their studies.
A medical student of a government medical college in Chennai said, "Students of the 2021 and 2022 batches received the tablets. It has not been given in the last three educational years. We hope the government will help us by resuming the scheme as it plays a major role in our studies," he said.
"The Tamil Nadu government has a policy to provide electronic tablets to all undergraduate medical and dental students admitted under the 7.5% reservation quota for government school students. This initiative aims to help these students access essential study materials and bridge the resource gap with their private school counterparts.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian announced this plan in 2022, stating that it is part of the state's efforts to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds benefiting from the quota. However, no progress has been made on this front yet," a student stated.
All undergraduate MBBS/BDS students enrolled in government, aided, and self-financing medical and dental colleges under the 7.5% horizontal reservation scheme are considered beneficiaries of this initiative. With these resources, students can download necessary books and reference materials for their courses, they said.
In the 2025-26 budget, the Tamil Nadu government announced a plan to provide free laptops or tablets to all college students, benefiting an estimated 20 lakh students over two years. This programme is expected to be launched in the coming months, but it is a general initiative for all college students, not specifically for those studying in medical colleges, they stressed.
"Even if the laptop distribution starts in the next few months, it will not benefit us final-year students, as we are in our last semester. This timing does not help our current academic year. We need the tablets now to prepare our study materials and for presentations. The health minister made assurances about this in 2022," said a second-year MBBS student studying at a government medical college in Chennai, on condition of anonymity.
Stressing the demand, they said that their representatives have sent a letter through the mail to the state government. Also it was stressed through the DMK's NRI wing, to the Health Minister Ma Subramanian in May 2025 during his visit to California, sources said.
A senior official from the health department said that the scheme was halted due to finacial issues and they planned to bring it under the upcoming laptop scheme.
Despite TNIE's attempts, Minister Ma Subramanian and health secretary Dr P Senthil Kumar were not available for comment on the matter.
The story is reported by R Kirubakaran for The New Indian Express