Professors oppose Periyar University’s admission notication for M.Tech course
A section of the faculty of Periyar University has objected to its notication for admission to the M.Tech course. The faculty said that last year, Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy had informed the Assembly that engineering degree programmes would require the approval of Anna University.
In a notication issued on Friday, Periyar University announced admission to 22 postgraduate courses, including MCA, MBA and M.Tech (Energy Technology), which were approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Admission to these courses would be based on an entrance exam.
Likewise, 21 courses were announced for direct admission, including diploma and certicate courses. The last date for submission of applications was May 31, the notication said.
However, faculty members said that last year, there had been objections to the university oering the postgraduate engineering degree programme.
A faculty member said that when PMK MLA G.K. Mani raised the issue in the Assembly, Mr. Ponmudy had said that “only Anna University had the jurisdiction to approve the start of engineering degree programmes” in Tamil Nadu.
‘Instructions issued’
According to him, instructions were given to Periyar University not to admit students to these courses.
Denying the allegation, a top ocial at Periyar University said that the Minister had spoken only about new courses. But Periyar University and a few other universities in the State had been oering these types of courses for the past few years.
As per the AICTE norms, qualied faculty members were available at Periyar University to run the course, the ocial added.