Tamil Nadu Goverment moves bill on Annamalai University

CHENNAI: After suspending the Vice-Chancellor and appointing an Administrator for the troubled Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu Government today moved to repeal an act pertaining to the varsity and bring it on par with enactments governing rest of the institutions in the state.

Higher Education Minister P Palaniappan moved the Annamalai University Bill, 2013 for this purpose.

Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar, who maintained colleges in Chidambaram, agreed in 1928 with then local government to handover those institutions to government and give a sum of Rs 20 lakh for establishing a residential university with certain powers and privilges for him and his heirs.

Accordingly, the Annamalai University was established under the Annamalai University Act, 1928 (Tamil Nadu Act I of 1929) as unitary type in which Chettiar was recognised as Founder.

"Though the position of the Founder appears to be a honorary one, the past experience indicates that the powers and privileges conferred on the Founder has been grossly abused," the government said.

In November 2012, teaching and non-teaching staff held protests fearing retrenchment and reduction in emoluments, and "inspite of releasing Block Grant by the Government every year running to severl crores, the University has landed in unprecedented financial crisis."

This was mainly due to appointment of excess staff, transfer of university funds and their investment for other purposes, it said.

It was the 'social obligation' of government to protect livelihood of staff and ensure imparting of education to rural students and therefore the government had "decided to bring the existing Annamalai University Act on par with other enactments governing the Universities in the state and to repeal the said Tamil Nadu Act I of 1929."

Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosiah had on April 6 suspended University Vice-Chancellor M Ramanathan following allegations of financial and other irregularities.

Government had appointed senior IAS officer Shivdas Meena as the Administrator of the university.