Manonmaniam Sundaranar University was established on 7 September, 1990 to cater to the long felt needs of the people of the three southern most districts of Tamil Nadu namely Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari. It has been named after the famous poet-laureate and scholar, Professor P. Sundaram Pillai. This state University is a also a teaching cum affiliating University. The University has under its jurisdiction 61 affiliated colleges, 5 Mano Colleges and 1 Constituent College, with 65,000 students on rolls. These colleges, amongst which three are over 100 years old (St. John’s College, M.D.T. Hindu College, Sarah Tucker College, the oldest women’s college in the state), have contributed decisively to the cause of higher education of this region. There are 24 academic departments in the University.