Education in Chennai

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Chennai is home to many well known educational and research institutions. IIT Madras is ranked among the top centers of engineering education in India. Anna University and Guindy College of Engineering are other well known institutions for engineering studies. Medical colleges such as the Madras Medical College and Stanley Medical College are located in the city. Some of the schools in Chennai are recognised among the top schools in the nation.^{[citation needed]}

1 Schools
2 Colleges
3 Research Institutions
4 Libraries
5 Notes

[edit] Schools

Schools in Chennai are either run publicly by the Tamil Nadu government, or run privately, some with financial aid from the government. The medium of education in private schools is English. Government run schools offer both English and Tamil medium education.^[1]^{[citation needed]} Private schools are usually affiliated to the Tamil Nadu State Board or the TamilNadu Matriculation board. A few schools are affiliated to the national CBSE board, ICSE board, Anglo-Indian board and the Montessori system. A few schools also offer the International Baccalaureate and the American systems. Schooling begins at the age of three with two years of kindergarten, followed by ten years of primary and secondary education. Students then need to complete two years of higher secondary education in one of two streams: science or commerce, before being eligible for college education in a general or professional field of study.^[2]^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Colleges

The main entrance to the Anna University.

The prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras (1959), is located in the south of the city and is internationally renowned for its engineering program. Located nearby, is the main campus of Anna University (1978), which formed from a merger of the College of Engineering, Guindy (1794), the Madras Institute of Technology (1949), the Alagappa College of Technology (1944), and the University of Madras School of Architecture and Planning (1957). Almost all colleges in Tamil Nadu that offer programs in engineering, technology and architecture are affiliated to Anna University. The remaining colleges are autonomous deemed universities.

The University of Madras (1857), which has three campuses in the city, offers a range of programs in liberal arts, science and commerce. A large majority of city colleges are affiliated to the university and offer programs in medicine, law, science, Arts and commerce. Some such older institutions are the Madras Christian College (1837), Presidency College (1840), Pachaiyappa's College (1842), the Madras Medical College (1835), Stanley Medical College (1938) and Vivekananda College (1946), The New College, Chennai (1951), DG Vaishnav College Chennai (1964) all of which affiliated themselves to the University of Madras on its formation. Other autonomous educational establishments include Queen Mary's College (1914), Women's Christian College (1915), Ethiraj College for Women (1948), Loyola College, Chennai (1925), Stella Maris College, (1947) the National Institute of Fashion Technology (1995), Asian College of Journalism (2000) and the Madras School of Social Work (1952).

The main entrance of IIT Madras, showing its logo and its motto.

The Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai, a prominent law college in Tamil Nadu was founded in 1891. Madras Medical College, established in 1835,^[3] is one of the oldest educational institutions to offer medical education in the Indian subcontinent. Stanley Medical College, Kilpauk Medical College and Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute are the other notable medical colleges in the city. Madras Veterinary College established in 1903 was the first institution of its kind in India. The southern regional office of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is located in Chennai. The ICAI is the governing body of the chartered accountancy profession in India.

[edit] Research Institutions

Chennai is home to well known research institutions. The world's largest organization for leather research, the Central Leather Research Institute, is located in Adyar. It is a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India and is the premier institution of education and research in the leather sector in India.^[4] The Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, which is an important center for electronics research in India, has a branch in Chennai. The center focuses on advanced sensor technologies, process control instrumentation and automation and machine vision technologies.^[5] Centers for research in mathematical, physical and computer sciences include the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc) and the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI). The IMSc focuses on research in theoretical computer science, mathematics, and theoretical physics, while the CMI specializes in algebraic geometry, representation theory, Lie groups, logic, languages and automata theory. The Institute for Financial Management and Research, which is a leading business school and a prominent research institution, is located at Nungambakkam in Chennai.

[edit] Libraries

The Connemara Public Library built in 1890 is one of the four National Depository Centres in India. These centres receive a copy of all newspapers and books published in India.^[6] It has been declared as a UNESCO information centre.^[7] Other important libraries include the Archaeological Survey of India library at the Fort St. George, the Theosophical Society library at its headquarters in Adyar, the Ramakrishna Math Library and The Krishnamurti Foundation library in the premises of the Krishnamurti Foundation world headquarters.