Madurai: A private college in Usilampatti has sparked controversy after denying admission to a mentally challenged student, prompting his father to seek intervention from District Collector MS Sangeetha.

Hariraman, a student with intellectual disabilities from Kongapatti, successfully completed his class 12 exams with the assistance of a scribe and an exemption from writing English papers granted by the school education department.

During a grievance meeting, Hariraman's father, R Raman, submitted a petition stating, "The college refused admission to BA Political Science for Hariraman, citing his absence from English examinations."

Raman alleged that despite filing complaints with Madurai Kamaraj University's dean and the chief educational officer, no action was taken.

Chief Educational Officer K Karthika mentioned that she cannot intervene since the student has finished class 12.

A Gunasekaran, Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education, assured that the matter will be investigated, and the Department of Higher Education has issued guidelines for admitting disabled students.