Sack M K Surappa as Anna University VC: Stalin to government

Anna University, the premier engineering institute in Tamil Nadu, is back in the news with DMK President M K Stalin on Monday demanding the sacking of M K Surappa as its Vice-Chancellor for writing to the Centre directly on the issue of the varsity getting Institute of Eminence (IoE) tag.

Mysuru-born Surappa, whose appointment in 2018 was criticised by Opposition parties on the count that he does not belong to the state, is understood to have written to the Centre maintaining that the prestigious university has the capability to raise Rs 1,500 crore on its own without any assistance from the government for getting the IoE tag.

DMK and other parties fear that Anna University may not be able to implement the existing 69 per cent reservation in admission once the institute gets the IoE tag. Though the Centre has orally said the reservation would continue, Opposition parties are not ready to buy the assurance.

However, Surappa told Deccan Herald that the existing reservation policy would continue even if the institute gets the IoE tag. “Absolutely. There will no change in the reservation policy and all the existing governing structure would remain the same. Not just policies related to students, but also related to the faculty will remain the same. As for the controversies, I cannot really help,” he said.

In the statement, Stalin accused Surappa, Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami of “working to cahoots to saffronise Anna University.”

The DMK president also questioned how the V-C can write a letter to the Centre by-passing the state government and claim that the varsity has the capacity to raise funds when a committee is going into the issue and is yet to submit its recommendations.

“If the Chief Minister has no role in this letter, he should request the Governor to sack Surappa for writing a letter unilaterally to the Centre against the reservation policy and the state’s rights.

“The Chief Minister should also write a letter to the Prime Minister in categorical terms that the state would not accept the IoE tag unless there is an assurance from the Centre that the existing reservation policy will be applicable for the institute too,” he said.

The university was in the news recently after professors asked the Governor not to give his assent for a Bill passed in the Assembly seeking to bifurcate Anna University. Though the professors said they do not have any objection in bifurcating the university, they opposed “gifting” of the parent university’s name to affiliated private colleges, while the existing institute getting the new name.

According to the Bill, four institutes, including the prestigious College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG) and the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), that are originally part of the varsity will now be known as Anna Technological and Research University (ARTU), while all affiliated colleges would come under Anna University.

They scoffed at the renaming of the “parent institute” saying the move would only benefit private colleges as the name “Anna University” is known world-wide. On Monday, the Anna University Teachers’ Association (AUTA) supported Surappa on the issue of IoE status for the institution.

“The issue is whether or not the powerful players are willing to allow Anna University comprising the four prestigious campuses to survive with the same name and grow. loE is just an added credit to Anna University whereas the Tamil Nadu Government's reservation policy is bound to continue,” the AUTA said in a statement.