President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the Annamalai University Bill 2013, paving the way for the State government to take full control of the affairs of the 84-year-old institution.
R.Udaichandran and S.Mathiyalagan, coordinator and general secretary of the Joint Action Council (JAC) of the Annamalai University Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff Associations, disclosed the news to reporters here on Wednesday.
JAC office-bearers, in a statement released here on Wednesday, said that subsequent to the passage of the Bill in the Assembly on April 16, it was sent to Mr. Mukherjee for his approval.
The Presidential nod has been communicated to the State government, which would notify it in its gazette. This legislative measure would completely alienate the university from the hold of the family of founder Rajah Sir Annamanali Chettiar.
The information was received with great jubilation by teaching and non-teaching staff of the university. They gathered in large numbers on the university premises, distributed sweets and burst crackers.
Mr. Mathiyalagan told The Hindu that employees had been waiting for this moment since 1981. The university was in crisis owing to financial irregularities and it had come to such a pass that the erstwhile management even contemplated of retrenching staff and cut salaries.
The proposal created unrest on the university campus and led to a series of agitations. The government appointed Shiv Das Meena as Administrator to streamline the affairs of the university.
