Loyola College, Chennai has chosen silence over accountability.
On 19 July 2026, Savukku Shankar of Savukku Media publicly alleged that Udhayanidhi Stalin, then a senior DMK leader and now Leader of the Opposition, completed his degree from Loyola College despite carrying 12 paper arrears. According to the claim, a Government Order was specially used to allow him to clear those backlog papers, after which the order was withdrawn. The only person who appears to have benefited from that temporary window, the exposé stated, was Udhayanidhi himself.
The Commune formally wrote to Principal Rev. Dr. A. Louis Arockiaraj, S.J., seeking the college’s response. The email laid out the specific allegation, reminded the Principal of his earlier refusal to discuss the “cash for marks” scandal, and gave a clear 24-48 hour window to confirm or dispute the account.
The college did not reply.
This is the same Principal who, when approached earlier about faculty members allegedly tampering with answer scripts and being quietly reinstated, had responded, “The issue concerns disciplinary proceedings involving a staff member. There cannot be a public discussion on the issue. We inform you to refrain from scandalising individuals and institutions.”
That same institutional stonewalling is now being applied to a far more serious public interest question: whether a government-recognised autonomous college conferred a degree on a powerful political figure through a process that ordinary students could never access.
The pattern is hard to ignore. First came the cash-for-marks allegations involving answer-script manipulation and rapid reinstatement of the accused faculty. Then came the wider complaints of unauthorised programmes, off-campus teaching, and administrative favouritism. Now comes the direct allegation that academic rules were bent or temporarily rewritten so that a DMK heir could clear 12 arrears and walk away with a degree.
Loyola College has been given every opportunity to place its version on record. It has chosen not to. In the face of a public call for a government inquiry, silence from an institution that awards degrees under the University of Madras is no longer neutral. It is part of the story.
The records exist. The Government Order (if it was issued), the examination attendance, the mark registers, and the subsequent cancellation order are all public documents. The only question is whether anyone in authority – the Higher Education Department, the University of Madras, or the Chief Minister’s Office, will finally demand them.
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