Struggling to keep the Annamalai University in Chidambaram going, the government is contemplating making the Rajah Muthiah Medical and Dental College, now part of the university, a constituent college of the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University.
If this idea fructifies, the annual deficit of the Annamalai University will be down by ₹80 crore. Currently, the university is handicapped by a revenue gap of ₹250 crore. Recently, the authorities redeployed staff, a move which is expected to bring down the deficit by ₹40 crore. On an average, the government is providing ₹100 crore. This year, the allocation is around ₹140 crore. It is for the university to find ways to bridge the remaining shortfall by making its operations efficient, a top government official says.
There are about 1,800 students in the college inclusive of those pursuing undergraduate and post-graduate courses. The present sanctioned intake of students for MBBS is 150.
Another official says immovable properties of the college are located in such a manner within the sprawling campus of the Annamalai University in Chidambaram of Cuddalore district, about 225 km south of Chennai, that the partition will be a smooth affair.
It was because of a deep financial crisis faced by the university that the government took complete charge of the institution four years ago.
Till then, the family of the University’s founder Annamalai Chettiar was managing the university. This was formally brought to an end when the Annamalai University Act of 1929 was replaced with a fresh law in 2013.
Taking into consideration the financial crisis of the university, the State government had sanctioned over ₹ 600 crore in the last four years to meet the expenses of the university.
The issue of the college charging much higher fees for MBBS and other courses than those charged by government medical and dental colleges has been bothering students. But, a year ago, the Madras High Court held that the university was entitled to fix the fees as prescribed by the Syndicate. It remains to be seen how the structure of fees will be if the college is brought under the control of the Medical University.
