CHENNAI: With an interim stay order stalling the admission process, Anna University has asked PhD aspirants to wait another week as admissions remain on hold.
University sources said the institution has filed an appeal against the interim stay granted in a case filed by temporary staff members, who sought to restrain the university from admitting new PhD scholars as research associates. Officials expressed hope that the legal issue would be resolved soon, enabling the admission process to resume.
The delay has left hundreds of research aspirants uncertain about their academic plans. The PhD entrance examination, originally scheduled for May 17, was cancelled after the stay order, bringing the admission process to a standstill.
Anna University, which oversees 463 affiliated engineering colleges and 16 constituent colleges across the state, currently has 2,261 PhD scholars enrolled in its four campus colleges and 13,247 scholars pursuing research through affiliated institutions.
Under the existing admission process, a PhD aspirant must first obtain the consent of a recognised research supervisor, who agrees to guide the proposed study. The candidate can apply for admission only after the approval. Applicants are then required to clear the university's entrance examination before being allotted a research seat.
The PhD entrance examination, scheduled for May 17, was cancelled, bringing the entire admission process to a standstill at a time when new research scholars were expected to begin their programmes.
The university admits over 500 PhD scholars annually. However, the prolonged delay has prompted some aspirants to explore admission opportunities at other institutions amid uncertainty over the academic calendar.
Faculty members warned that a prolonged suspension of admissions could affect ongoing research projects funded by government and external agencies. They said a decline in fresh enrolments could eventually impact the university's research output and its standing in national rankings, including the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).
Students said they remain uncertain about when admissions for the current academic year will begin and are awaiting an official announcement from the university.
University officials reiterated that they expect greater clarity after the appeal is heard and have urged aspirants to wait another week for an update on the admission process.