Tamil Nadu: Policy on e-governance to be implemented in HEIs

CHENNAI: To establish guidelines for effective technology integration in the colleges, the Higher Education Department rolled out a draft model policy on technology usage (e-governance) in Tamil Nadu higher educational institutions.

Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TNSCHE), a wing of the higher education department, has been entrusted to devise the policy for the first time.

MP Vijayakumar, vice chairperson, TNSCHE told DT Next that this policy document on technology usage in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in Tamil Nadu serves as a comprehensive roadmap to harness the power of e-governance, ensuring transparency, efficiency, and accessibility across academic and administrative domains. “By embracing digital innovation - from admissions and academics to grievance redressal and alumni engagement - this policy envisions a future-ready educational ecosystem aligned with global standards,” he said.

Quoting a few vital aspects of the policy, the official said the objective is to digitise institutional operations and services, enhancing transparency, administrative efficiency, and academic performance while ensuring seamless access to services for all stakeholders.

“There are as many as 17 provisions in the policy, which includes the mandatory institutional updated website, admission of students fully online, students’ dashboard, attendance management, fee payment, academic calendar and examination and results management,” he added.

Pointing out that in the future all the recruitment processes for teaching and non-teaching staff, from notification to the final selection of candidates, shall be fully digitised, Vijayakumar said, “In addition, placement services, including campus recruitment schedules, employer information, and student placement data, shall be managed online.”

"All certificates, including transfer certificates, provisional certificates, and faculty service certificates, will be issued online with secure verification mechanisms", he said adding "all certificates, including transfer certificates, provisional certificates, and faculty service certificates, will be issued online with secure verification mechanisms".

Stating that all the HEIs will establish an IT governance committee to oversee the implementation of this policy and monitor its compliance, he said, “The policy will be available for the students, faculty members, educational administrators, researchers, policymakers, and members of the public to review the draft and share their valuable feedback to help refine and strengthen the policy framework.”

Welcoming the state government's decision to introduce uniform technology in all the HEIs in the State, P Thirunavukkarasu, the vice chairman of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) said, “The move will ensure transparency in all the aspects of the HEIs. The work concerning the administration will be easy. The data will be collected anytime. It will be easy for each HEI to apply for the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) as the data will be available online.”