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Deemed varsities can return to Anna University fold: VC

Staff Reporter

Says they can produce a letter to that effect and get back

TIRUCHI: Deemed universities were welcome to return to the fold of Anna University as affiliated colleges, the Vice-Chancellor, D. Viswanathan, said today.

"Willing deemed universities can produce a letter to that effect to the Anna University and get back," Dr. Viswanathan told reporters here today, responding to a query. He, however, refused to comment on whether the deemed universities were answerable to the UGC or the AICTE, saying that the matter was sub-judice.

New programmes

He announced that the university would offer from the ensuing academic year four new M.E. programmes: Manufacturing Systems Management, Water Resource and Irrigation Management, Biomedical Engineering, and Computer Science and Engineering (under Web Education); and two new B.E. Programmes: Material Science and Engineering, and Agriculture and Irrigation Engineering. MBA and MCA will be offered through correspondence.

With the offer of new programmes, the number of B.E. and M.E. programmes offered by the university and its affiliated colleges will rise up to 36 and 87 respectively. To a question, he said the university had no plans to offer programmes in Humanities.

The Faculty Development Programme for teachers of affiliated self-financing colleges has gathered pace with the use of EDUSAT, he said, informing that the university has enlisted the help of IIT-Chennai, and IIT-Mumbai, for broad-basing the initiative. To a question, he said the work on establishing regional research centres, exclusively meant for self-financing colleges, at Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tiruchi, and Tirunelveli, will commence soon after a formal approval by the Syndicate.

Asked about the readiness of the university to conduct TNPCEE examinations in the event of a ruling to that effect by the Apex Court, he said the process could be completed in two months time from the date of notification. He admitted that there was a delay in implementation of the university's earlier proposal to admit 1,000 Chinese students, and that the process will be resumed. His visit to China for the purpose was impending.

On development activities in the University, he said a new 3 lakh square metre three-storeyed building will come up at the Guindy campus. Old structures with asbestos roofing will be pulled down. On the reported practice of some self-financing colleges to make purchase of laptops mandatory for the students, he said students owning laptops was common in foreign universities, but, suggested that the self-financing colleges could think of providing laptops for poor students, under a `get back' arrangement.

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