Yet again, politicians belonging to the Dravidian parties are up to what they are good at – playing unwarranted politics over education by blocking reforms and establishment of institutions that can help improve the quality of education and students. Decades back, they opposed the setting up of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas that would have provided cheap and best residential education with international exposure to rural poor students of Tamil Nadu. Now, they are opposing upgrading of Anna University into an ‘Institute of Eminence’ that can make it a world class institution.
What is an ‘Institute of Eminence’?
The ‘Institute of Eminence’ was announced by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech in February 2016 to empower higher educational institutions of the country become world class education and research institutions. This announcement came in the wake of no Indian university finding place in the top 200 of World University Rankings.
Under this scheme, 20 institutes (10 public and 10 private) recognized as ‘Institutes of Eminence’ (IoE) will enjoy complete academic and administrative autonomy. Each public institute under this scheme will receive ₹1000 crores worth grants over 5 years from the Ministry of Education for the purpose of enhancing the research infrastructure, teaching capabilities, start new disciplines, train faculties, fund fellowships, incubate innovations and businesses, invite foreign faculty for lectures, collaborate with foreign universities, etc.
An Empowered Expert Committee comprising Harvard Business School professor Tarun Khanna, former Director of Gurgaon-based Management Development Institute Dr. Pritam Singh and Chancellor of University of Houston System Renu Khator as members and headed by Former Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami identified 20 institutes (10 public and 10 private) from around 120 institutes including Central Universities, State Universities, IITs, and private universities.
As of August 2019, 8 public institutions have been declared as ‘Institute of Eminence’. These include: Banaras Hindu University, Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, University of Delhi and University of Hyderabad.
Anna University, Chennai and Jadavpur University, Kolkata are the only two State Public Universities that have been selected for ‘IoE’ tag.
About Anna University
Anna University (College of Engineering, Guindy) is one of the oldest engineering colleges not just in the country but in the entire world. The College of Engineering, Guindy was established in 1794 as School of Survey. Subsequently, it became Civil Engineering School in 1858 and was brought under the Madras University in 1859. It became College of Engineering in 1861 with the addition of mechanical engineering course.
The institute gained the name Anna University through the Anna University Chennai Act 1978, thus bringing the institute under the Tamil Nadu government’s control.
Today, Anna University comprises of four main constituent campuses: i) College Of Engineering, Guindy; ii) Alagappa College of Technology, Guindy; iii) School of Architecture and Planning, Guindy; and iv) Madras Institute of Technology, Chromepet.
It is for these four colleges that ‘Institute of Eminence’ tag (IoE) was offered to be conferred. However, this prestigious tag which would have upped the game of Anna University has been rejected, thanks to the Dravidian political parties.
Rhetoric and Facts
Contrary to the misinformation peddled by the Dravidian politicians and their accomplices in the media, a State public university recognized as ‘Institute of Eminence’ will provide for lots of benefits and will in no way infringe upon the State’s rights, policies and control over the institution.
Here are the top three rumours peddled by Dravidian political parties and the mainstream media.
Rumour 1: Anna University will come under Centre’s control
Truth: Anna University after getting the ‘Institute of Eminence’ tag will have greater autonomy by not having to adhere to the curriculum structure of University Grants Commission (UGC), a Central government body. It will be free from UGC inspections and guidelines which it is mandated to follow now.
Ioe guidelines para 6.1 f
Rumour 2: Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation policy will not be implemented if Anna University gets ‘IoE’ tag
Truth: It has been clearly stated that the ‘IoE’ scheme for public institutions is meant to provide them with grant support to increase their competence at the global level. It does not interfere with the administrative aspects of the institute like admission procedure, recruitments, reservation of seats, etc., because such aspects are covered by the Anna University Chennai Act 1978, a State Act, which the Centre cannot touch.
Anna University Chennai Act 1978
Rumour 3: Students will have to pay more fees
Truth: As mentioned, the granting of ‘IoE’ status does not interfere in the administrative aspects like fee payment as that is also governed by Anna University Chennai Act 1978. It is the Syndicate comprising of Vice Chancellor and other Secretary-level officers of the state government that considers and reviews the financial requirements and approves the annual financial estimates of the university. So, any fee rise or fall has to be approved and mandated by the Syndicate. The Centre does not have any administrative jurisdiction over the institution.
Anna University Chennai Act 1978
Also, para 6.1c in the IoE guidelines clearly states that the institute will have the freedom to determine the fees for domestic students and that no student who gains admission should be turned away for lack of finance.
IoE guidelines point 6.1 c
What do the ‘IoE’ guidelines say?
Para 5.3 of the ‘IoE’ guidelines states that State Public Universities set up under State Acts would continue to function under their respective Acts. So, administrative aspects like admissions, recruitment, fees, reservation policy, governance, etc., of Anna University will continue to function per the provisions of the Anna University Chennai Act 1978.
IoE guidelines
What did Vice Chancellor Surappa do?
Ever since Prof. M.K. Surappa, a renowned academician, was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Anna University in April 2018, the Dravidian chauvinists especially the DMK has been trying to cow him down through their racist narratives just because he is a native of Karnataka.
The proposal for including Anna University as an ‘Institute of Eminence’ was prepared and submitted by Tamil Nadu government’s Higher Education Department along with Professors and Deans of Anna University in 2017, even before Prof. M.K. Surappa was appointed. This proposal was signed by the Principal Secretary of Higher Education Mr. Sunil Paliwal IAS who had forwarded the proposal to the Ministry of Education (Ministry of Human Resource Development then). Thus, this proposal was submitted officially with the knowledge of the Tamil Nadu government unlike the claims made.
After Prof. Surappa became the Vice Chancellor, he in his capacity as the head of the institution along with the Professors and Deans made a presentation to the Empowered Expert Committee in October 2018. After the first set of ‘IoE’ comprising just the IITs and two private universities were released, two universities falling under State governments – Anna University (Tamil Nadu) and Jadavpur University (West Bengal) found place in the expanded list of 10 public institutes.
Upon being selected, the Ministry of Education had sent a communication to the Tamil Nadu government and Anna University asking for a financial plan about how to make Anna University as an ‘Institute of Eminence’ sustainable in addition to the ₹1000 crores grant offered by the Centre. Since this is a State government established and administered institution, it is expected that the State also commits financially to the scheme. In the plan, it was stated that Anna University had the means to raise ₹1570 crores on its own. It was this communication sent by Surappa which was picked up by DMK chief MK Stalin to stir up the controversy.
Prof. Surappa wrote to the Tamil Nadu government requesting to send a letter of commitment to the Centre accepting the ‘IoE’ tag. The Tamil Nadu government formed a five member committee to finalize the matter. Prof. Surappa even met the Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan around 4-5 times on the issue. As the letter of commitment was not received by the Centre, it gave a deadline of May 31 to send the letter.
Prof. Surappa had met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan and other members on May 20 and made a detailed presentation on the financial proposal that had already been submitted.
On May 29, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam sent a letter to the Centre accepting the ‘IoE’ status in-principle. Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan wanted to ensure that the granting of ‘IoE’ status does not affect the 69% reservation policy of Tamil Nadu government. It was Prof. Surappa himself who took the initiative and wrote a letter to the Centre saying that the Tamil Nadu government is insisting that the state wishes to continue its reservation policy and requested the Centre to give a written confirmation that there will be no change in the reservation policy.
The Joint Secretary of Ministry of Education sent a letter to the Vice Chancellor in which it was highlighted that as per para 5.3 of the ‘IoE’ guidelines State public universities will continue to function as per the provisions of the respective state Acts which includes the admissions procedure, recruitments, governance structure, reservations and other administrative aspects.
Thus it has been clarified more than once that Anna University can continue with the existing scheme of reservation for admissions and recruitments. In essence, the status quo will remain unchanged.
Another great opportunity lost due to false propaganda by DMK
Minister K.P. Anabalagan on October 16 communicated that the Tamil Nadu government will not accept the ‘Institute of Eminence’ status stating that it ‘could’ affect the state’s reservation policy. He also added that there are ‘chances’ of introducing entrance exams and increasing fees. However, none of these apprehensions holds water as per the ‘IoE’ guidelines and the communication indicated from the Centre. What the Tamil Nadu government has done is to succumb to the false and mischievous propaganda peddled by the DMK chief MK Stalin and his son ‘actor’ Udhayanidhi Stalin. By this move, the Dravidian parties have once again flushed a glorious opportunity down the drain that would have provided Tamil Nadu students exposure at the international level.
Former Vice Chancellor of Anna University E. Balagurusamy heavily criticised the Tamil Nadu government’s move to reject the ‘IoE’ staus stating that the Tamil Nadu government has insulted Anna University by failing to recognize its significance. He said that it is very unfortunate that the Tamil Nadu government has let go of this opportunity and has appealed to reconsider its position. He said that nobody should do politics over this as Anna University is a public institution meant to benefit the public.
#SaveAnnaUniversity: From whom? The IoE controversy explained
Yet again, politicians belonging to the Dravidian parties are up to what they are good at – playing unwarranted politics over education by blocking reforms and establishment of institutions that can help improve the quality of education and students. Decades back, they opposed the setting up of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas that would have provided cheap and best residential education with international exposure to rural poor students of Tamil Nadu. Now, they are opposing upgrading of Anna University into an ‘Institute of Eminence’ that can make it a world class institution.
What is an ‘Institute of Eminence’?
The ‘Institute of Eminence’ was announced by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech in February 2016 to empower higher educational institutions of the country become world class education and research institutions. This announcement came in the wake of no Indian university finding place in the top 200 of World University Rankings.
Under this scheme, 20 institutes (10 public and 10 private) recognized as ‘Institutes of Eminence’ (IoE) will enjoy complete academic and administrative autonomy. Each public institute under this scheme will receive ₹1000 crores worth grants over 5 years from the Ministry of Education for the purpose of enhancing the research infrastructure, teaching capabilities, start new disciplines, train faculties, fund fellowships, incubate innovations and businesses, invite foreign faculty for lectures, collaborate with foreign universities, etc.
An Empowered Expert Committee comprising Harvard Business School professor Tarun Khanna, former Director of Gurgaon-based Management Development Institute Dr. Pritam Singh and Chancellor of University of Houston System Renu Khator as members and headed by Former Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami identified 20 institutes (10 public and 10 private) from around 120 institutes including Central Universities, State Universities, IITs, and private universities.
As of August 2019, 8 public institutions have been declared as ‘Institute of Eminence’. These include: Banaras Hindu University, Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, University of Delhi and University of Hyderabad.
Anna University, Chennai and Jadavpur University, Kolkata are the only two State Public Universities that have been selected for ‘IoE’ tag.
About Anna University
Anna University (College of Engineering, Guindy) is one of the oldest engineering colleges not just in the country but in the entire world. The College of Engineering, Guindy was established in 1794 as School of Survey. Subsequently, it became Civil Engineering School in 1858 and was brought under the Madras University in 1859. It became College of Engineering in 1861 with the addition of mechanical engineering course.
The institute gained the name Anna University through the Anna University Chennai Act 1978, thus bringing the institute under the Tamil Nadu government’s control.
Today, Anna University comprises of four main constituent campuses: i) College Of Engineering, Guindy; ii) Alagappa College of Technology, Guindy; iii) School of Architecture and Planning, Guindy; and iv) Madras Institute of Technology, Chromepet.
It is for these four colleges that ‘Institute of Eminence’ tag (IoE) was offered to be conferred. However, this prestigious tag which would have upped the game of Anna University has been rejected, thanks to the Dravidian political parties.
Rhetoric and Facts
Contrary to the misinformation peddled by the Dravidian politicians and their accomplices in the media, a State public university recognized as ‘Institute of Eminence’ will provide for lots of benefits and will in no way infringe upon the State’s rights, policies and control over the institution.
Here are the top three rumours peddled by Dravidian political parties and the mainstream media.
Rumour 1: Anna University will come under Centre’s control
Truth: Anna University after getting the ‘Institute of Eminence’ tag will have greater autonomy by not having to adhere to the curriculum structure of University Grants Commission (UGC), a Central government body. It will be free from UGC inspections and guidelines which it is mandated to follow now.
Rumour 2: Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation policy will not be implemented if Anna University gets ‘IoE’ tag
Truth: It has been clearly stated that the ‘IoE’ scheme for public institutions is meant to provide them with grant support to increase their competence at the global level. It does not interfere with the administrative aspects of the institute like admission procedure, recruitments, reservation of seats, etc., because such aspects are covered by the Anna University Chennai Act 1978, a State Act, which the Centre cannot touch.
Rumour 3: Students will have to pay more fees
Truth: As mentioned, the granting of ‘IoE’ status does not interfere in the administrative aspects like fee payment as that is also governed by Anna University Chennai Act 1978. It is the Syndicate comprising of Vice Chancellor and other Secretary-level officers of the state government that considers and reviews the financial requirements and approves the annual financial estimates of the university. So, any fee rise or fall has to be approved and mandated by the Syndicate. The Centre does not have any administrative jurisdiction over the institution.
Also, para 6.1c in the IoE guidelines clearly states that the institute will have the freedom to determine the fees for domestic students and that no student who gains admission should be turned away for lack of finance.
What do the ‘IoE’ guidelines say?
Para 5.3 of the ‘IoE’ guidelines states that State Public Universities set up under State Acts would continue to function under their respective Acts. So, administrative aspects like admissions, recruitment, fees, reservation policy, governance, etc., of Anna University will continue to function per the provisions of the Anna University Chennai Act 1978.
What did Vice Chancellor Surappa do?
Ever since Prof. M.K. Surappa, a renowned academician, was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Anna University in April 2018, the Dravidian chauvinists especially the DMK has been trying to cow him down through their racist narratives just because he is a native of Karnataka.
The proposal for including Anna University as an ‘Institute of Eminence’ was prepared and submitted by Tamil Nadu government’s Higher Education Department along with Professors and Deans of Anna University in 2017, even before Prof. M.K. Surappa was appointed. This proposal was signed by the Principal Secretary of Higher Education Mr. Sunil Paliwal IAS who had forwarded the proposal to the Ministry of Education (Ministry of Human Resource Development then). Thus, this proposal was submitted officially with the knowledge of the Tamil Nadu government unlike the claims made.
After Prof. Surappa became the Vice Chancellor, he in his capacity as the head of the institution along with the Professors and Deans made a presentation to the Empowered Expert Committee in October 2018. After the first set of ‘IoE’ comprising just the IITs and two private universities were released, two universities falling under State governments – Anna University (Tamil Nadu) and Jadavpur University (West Bengal) found place in the expanded list of 10 public institutes.
Upon being selected, the Ministry of Education had sent a communication to the Tamil Nadu government and Anna University asking for a financial plan about how to make Anna University as an ‘Institute of Eminence’ sustainable in addition to the ₹1000 crores grant offered by the Centre. Since this is a State government established and administered institution, it is expected that the State also commits financially to the scheme. In the plan, it was stated that Anna University had the means to raise ₹1570 crores on its own. It was this communication sent by Surappa which was picked up by DMK chief MK Stalin to stir up the controversy.
Prof. Surappa wrote to the Tamil Nadu government requesting to send a letter of commitment to the Centre accepting the ‘IoE’ tag. The Tamil Nadu government formed a five member committee to finalize the matter. Prof. Surappa even met the Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan around 4-5 times on the issue. As the letter of commitment was not received by the Centre, it gave a deadline of May 31 to send the letter.
Prof. Surappa had met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan and other members on May 20 and made a detailed presentation on the financial proposal that had already been submitted.
On May 29, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam sent a letter to the Centre accepting the ‘IoE’ status in-principle. Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan wanted to ensure that the granting of ‘IoE’ status does not affect the 69% reservation policy of Tamil Nadu government. It was Prof. Surappa himself who took the initiative and wrote a letter to the Centre saying that the Tamil Nadu government is insisting that the state wishes to continue its reservation policy and requested the Centre to give a written confirmation that there will be no change in the reservation policy.
The Joint Secretary of Ministry of Education sent a letter to the Vice Chancellor in which it was highlighted that as per para 5.3 of the ‘IoE’ guidelines State public universities will continue to function as per the provisions of the respective state Acts which includes the admissions procedure, recruitments, governance structure, reservations and other administrative aspects.
Thus it has been clarified more than once that Anna University can continue with the existing scheme of reservation for admissions and recruitments. In essence, the status quo will remain unchanged.
Another great opportunity lost due to false propaganda by DMK
Minister K.P. Anabalagan on October 16 communicated that the Tamil Nadu government will not accept the ‘Institute of Eminence’ status stating that it ‘could’ affect the state’s reservation policy. He also added that there are ‘chances’ of introducing entrance exams and increasing fees. However, none of these apprehensions holds water as per the ‘IoE’ guidelines and the communication indicated from the Centre. What the Tamil Nadu government has done is to succumb to the false and mischievous propaganda peddled by the DMK chief MK Stalin and his son ‘actor’ Udhayanidhi Stalin. By this move, the Dravidian parties have once again flushed a glorious opportunity down the drain that would have provided Tamil Nadu students exposure at the international level.
Former Vice Chancellor of Anna University E. Balagurusamy heavily criticised the Tamil Nadu government’s move to reject the ‘IoE’ staus stating that the Tamil Nadu government has insulted Anna University by failing to recognize its significance. He said that it is very unfortunate that the Tamil Nadu government has let go of this opportunity and has appealed to reconsider its position. He said that nobody should do politics over this as Anna University is a public institution meant to benefit the public.
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