CHENNAI: Arappor Iyakkam has alleged irregularities in the affiliation inspection process of the Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University (TNTEU), claiming that inspection records contain discrepancies and several BEd colleges may have listed the same faculty members to meet affiliation requirements.

According to documents obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, records relating to inspection teams and inspection dates for 74 colleges that applied for affiliation during 2023 and 2025 revealed several discrepancies, the organisation said.

Tamil Nadu has around 590 B.Ed colleges, of which 526 are private institutions, according to Arappor Iyakkam.

Colleges seeking affiliation are required to undergo physical inspections by university-appointed teams to verify infrastructure, faculty strength, student enrolment and other requirements under National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) norms.

However, the organisation alleged that some records showed inspection team members visiting colleges in different districts on the same day, raising questions about whether the inspections were physically conducted as recorded.

For instance, the RTI documents reportedly showed that on March 28, 2023, TNTEU Registrar K Rajasekaran, who headed an inspection team, was listed as having inspected KNR Subbaraj Memorial College of Education in Thoothukudi and colleges in Salem and Karur on the same day.

Similarly, A R S Kannan, principal of Sri Jayajothi College of Education, was listed as having inspected KNR Subbaraj Memorial College along with the Registrar on the same day, while also being associated with an inspection of Indian College of Education in Vellore.

Arappor Iyakkam questioned how inspections could have been completed at colleges located more than 500 km apart on the same day.

The RTI records also allegedly revealed instances of faculty members being listed across multiple institutions.

According to the organisation, the names of 37 faculty members appeared in the records of 222 colleges, raising concerns that the same teachers may have been shown as staff members in several institutions.

It further alleged that five principals with identical names and initials were listed as principals of 10 colleges.

The organisation questioned whether the colleges had the required teaching staff during inspections or whether faculty details had been included only on paper to fulfil affiliation requirements.

M Radha Krishnan of Arappor Iyakkam said the organisation had submitted a complaint to the Chief Minister seeking action over the alleged irregularities. He urged the State government to conduct fresh physical inspections of all 74 colleges.

He said the organisation had been seeking the information from the university under the RTI Act since 2023 but had initially been unable to obtain the details.

The records were secured only after the change of government, he added.

Radha Krishnan also expressed concern that discrepancies in faculty strength and infrastructure could affect the quality of teacher education and, consequently, the quality of teachers entering schools.

When contacted, TNTEU Registrar Dr K Rajasekaran said he could not have visited three colleges in different districts on the same day, as indicated in the documents, and could have inspected only one college.

He said the university was examining the RTI documents released by Arappor Iyakkam and would look into the allegations.