University to be established in Tamil Nadu after Karunanidhi; CM to be Chancellor

Chennai: Kalaignar University, named after the late M Karunanidhi, will be established in Kumbakonam, the Tamil Nadu government announced on Monday, adding that the Chancellor will be the Chief Minister, not the Governor, as is the case with a majority of state-funded universities.

The new university will begin functioning from the 2025-2026 academic year and will cater to Ariyalur, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, and Tiruvarur districts in the fertile Cauvery Delta region. The university will be established by bifurcating the Tiruchirapalli-based Bharathidasan University, which currently covers eight districts.

Once the bill is passed, the two universities will each cover four districts. Kumbakonam was chosen for the university named after Karunanidhi since it is part of the composite Thanjavur district, from where the former Chief Minister hailed.

Moving a Bill in the Assembly on the penultimate day of the Budget session, Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhian said the Chief Minister is proposed to be the Chancellor. The Higher Education Minister will be the Pro-Chancellor, and the Chancellor will have the powers to appoint the Vice-Chancellor from a panel of three names recommended by a selection committee.

Responding to demands from legislators belonging to various political parties, Chief Minister M K Stalin had last week said that a university named after Karunanidhi would be established in Kumbakonam.

This is the first university to be established by the DMK government after the Supreme Court verdict that transferred the powers of appointing Vice-Chancellors of state-funded universities from the Governor to the government. Though the government now has greater powers in the functioning of state-funded universities, the Governor continues to be the Chancellor.

However, in the case of the new university, the Governor will have no role, with all control being vested in the Chief Minister and the government. This development comes shortly after Vice-Chancellors of state and private universities in Tamil Nadu stayed away from a meeting convened by the Governor.