Chennai: A total of 51 Adi Dravidar welfare school hostels under the Tamil Nadu government have been closed over the past three years due to declining student admissions, officials said on Thursday.

The state currently has 1,331 social justice hostels functioning under the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department, accommodating over 65,000 school, college, and university students. Declining interest among students, attributed to issues such as food quality and hygiene, has led to reduced occupancy in several hostels.

Officials said hostels with no student enrollment or fewer than 10 students over the last three years were identified for closure. The 51 hostels closed are located mainly in southern districts, including Madurai (10), Coimbatore (11), Pudukkottai (9), Virudunagar (6), Sivaganga (4), Dindigul (4), Ramanathapuram (2), Kanyakumari (2), Thenkasi (2), and Theni (1).

The department has implemented measures to improve hostel facilities, including providing uniform food through common kitchens, and continues to offer welfare assistance to encourage student enrollment.

Some officials noted that while admissions for school students are declining, there is high demand for college hostels. Plans are underway to convert some of the underutilized school hostels into facilities for college students. Temporarily closed hostels are expected to reopen in the near future after necessary adjustments.