The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has registered an FIR against 10 officials of Anna University, including two former registrars, along with three professors and four engineering colleges, in connection with the large-scale ‘ghost faculty’ scam exposed by the anti-corruption organisation Arappor Iyakkam in July 2023.
According to the FIR, private engineering colleges colluded with officials at the university’s Centre for Affiliation of Institutions (CAI) to manipulate faculty strength data required for affiliation. Colleges allegedly placed on their rolls faculty members who were already employed at other institutions, while Anna University officials approved these inflated lists despite inspection reports indicating irregularities.
DVAC stated that the practice directly compromised academic quality and constituted cheating, fraud, and a breach of trust. Its investigation found that 224 out of 480 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu during 2023-24 had duplicated faculty entries, with 353 individuals falsely shown as full-time faculty in more than one institution.
The FIR alleges that colleges inflated faculty numbers both to meet affiliation norms and to reduce salary expenditure. It also accuses Anna University officials of knowingly submitting favourable inspection reports supporting these institutions despite being aware of the falsified data.
Among those named in the FIR are former CAI director Dr. A. Elayaperumal, deputy directors M. Chitra and Shiloah Elizabeth, former registrars G. Ravikumar and J. Prakash, and former CAI director V. R. Giridev. Deputy directors from Anna University’s regional centres – Marshal Anthoni (Coimbatore), V. Malathi (Madurai), S. Brahadeeswaran (Tiruchy), and S. Silas Sargunam (Tirunelveli) have also been listed as accused.
DVAC has additionally named three professors: S. Marichamy, who appeared on the payrolls of 11 engineering colleges, and Y. Ravikumar and S. Kannan, who were listed as full-time faculty in two colleges each. The four colleges named in the FIR include Prathyusha College, Venkateshwara College of Engineering and Technology, Madha Engineering College, and Kathir College of Engineering.
The FIR notes that 34 full-time faculty members of Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan College and 33 faculty members of TJ Institute of Technology were simultaneously listed as employees of other colleges during 2023-24. DVAC said Anna University failed to scrutinise such discrepancies, despite its responsibility under AICTE regulations.
The then Vice-Chancellor R. Velraj has not been named in the FIR. DVAC had earlier sought permission from Governor–Chancellor R.N. Ravi to investigate him, but approval was denied. Velraj, who was suspended by the state government on July 31 – his retirement day, later had his suspension revoked by the Governor.
The government granted permission to proceed against the accused officials on May 26, enabling the registration of the case. DVAC’s findings indicate widespread manipulation and systemic collusion within Tamil Nadu’s engineering college affiliation process, prompting concerns over academic governance and regulatory oversight in the state.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
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