Shashi Tharoor says Jamia Millia Islamia’s move to drop Thiruvananthapuram as exam centre ‘short-sighted’

The decision by Jamia Millia Islamia University to drop Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram from its list of examination centres was an “extremely short-sighted” one and would create problems for students, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Friday.

The Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram said the decision to drop JMI’s only centre in the south has been taken without giving any explanation.
“No explanation has been given to anybody, least the students. We had 550 students taking the exams last year in Thiruvananthapuram. Where will this year’s students go? Unless they (JMI) don’t want students from the south. It is an extremely short-sighted decision,” Tharoor told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Panaji.

Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) has removed Thiruvananthapuram from its list of entrance test centres. And it was the only such centre in south India! The city, moreover, witnessed at least 550 students taking the exams. An inexplicable decision: has @jmiu_official decided…

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 7, 2025

Informing that he would write to the JMI vice-chancellor to register his protest, the senior Congress leader said: “This has to change. We have to think about ourselves as one country and not just remain in our own little region. There are many from the south who want to study at JMI. Give them a chance.”