Anna Univ to be bifurcated after receiving IOE status

As per official sources Anna University will be receiving Institute of Eminence (IOE) status soon and the Tamil Nadu government is planning to bifurcate the institution to carry out more research activities in connection with higher education as academicians welcome the State’s move.

“A decision was taken in this regard was taken in the recent cabinet meeting”, Higher Education Minister K P Anbalagan told DT Next. He said that a government also constituted a committee comprising five ministers and three IAS officers as members to look into the possibility of splitting the university into two.

The ministers includes KP Anbalagan, KA Sengottaiyan, Minister for School Education, Youth Welfare and Sports Development, P Thangamani, Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise, D Jayakumar, Minister for Fisheries and Personnel and Administrative Reforms and C Ve Shanmugam, Minister for Law, Courts and Prisons.

The minister further said the first meeting of the committee will be held on December 30. “I have informed about the meeting with other ministers and requested them to attend,” he added.

He said the meeting would discuss and urge the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD) to issue IOE status for the Anna University quickly since it was pending for a long period.

“We have already requested the authorities concerned to clarify on the issue of applicability of the State Reservation Policy to this proposed IOE”, the minister said.

“After detailed study by organising further meetings, we would give our recommendations to the State government about the bifurcation of the University by amending Anna University Act 1978,” he said adding that accordingly, bifurcation of Anna University into two institutions such as Institute of Eminence and Anna University.

At present, Anna University takes care of more than 500 affiliated engineering colleges across the State, which caters higher education to about 80,000 engineering aspirants.

Welcoming the State government’s decision for the bifurcation of the institution, Anna University former Vice Chancellor E Balagurusamy said that once the university gets IOE status from MHRD, the faculties can’t more on affiliated colleges.

“This will affect the students. Therefore, bifurcating the university is a good decision so that one institution could take up more research activities that would benefit the students and other could monitor all the affiliated colleges,” he said.