Anna University to be bifurcated into two, separate varsity for engineering colleges

New Delhi: Anna University, the iconic varsity of Tamil Nadu will no longer be the same. It is set to be bifurcated in two separate entities soon. The Tamil Nadu government passed a Bill in the state Assembly to this effect on Wednesday.

A new Anna University will be formed and all engineering colleges of Tamil Nadu will be affiliated to this new varsity, according to the bill passed in house. It will come into effect as soon as the state govt passes a notification.

The existing Anna University would be renamed as ‘Anna Technological and Research University’.

While speaking to The Hindu, Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan said that the decision was taken only for administrative reasons.

“Managing the affairs of the engineering colleges across the state that are affiliated to Anna University is consuming much of the time and energy of eminent professors of the university. In order to concentrate on higher studies and research in engineering and technology, the government has decided to reconstitute the existing university as a unitary-type institution by the name of Anna Technological and Research University,” he said.

The decision to divide the institution was already in the pipeline when the state was aiming to obtain the Institute of Eminence (IoE) status for the varsity. In December last year, the state government formed a high-level committee of top ministers to assess its bifurcation.