The working of the five Anna Universities in the State will be co-ordinated with the same examination procedures and a committee comprising the five vice-chancellors will look at creating a curriculum of international standards, Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters after chairing the first meeting of the recently constituted Tamil Nadu State Council for Technical Education, Mr. Ponmudy said the Council will monitor the creation of the new curriculum which will also have components tailored to the regional needs of each University.
“There are nearly 500 engineering colleges in the State producing 1.5 lakh fresh graduates each year out of the total 7 lakh produced in India. With the numbers increasing dramatically, we also need to improve the quality and the Council will look at these aspects,” the Minister said.
The Council will monitor the setting up of a State Research Board and Research Centre and a Youth Welfare Department to look at aspects relating to research in colleges. Centres of Excellence will also be established with the support of non-resident Indians and an earn while you learn scheme would be implemented in colleges, Mr. Ponmudy said. A committee of three comprising Council vice-chairman M.S.Palanichamy, Anna University, Chennai, vice-chancellor P. Mannar Jawahar and member-secretary A.M.Sameeyullah, will look at complaints relating to the collection of excess fees and capitation fees in colleges.
Guidance and counselling centres will be established in colleges to look at the distress of students due to various pressures. The Council will also prepare textbooks in Tamil for other streams of engineering in coming years after taking into account the response of students to the Mechanical and Civil Engineering Tamil medium courses this year, Mr. Ponmudy added.
