DMK MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin has been nominated as a member of Anna University’s Syndicate. The announcement was made by Speaker M. Appavu in the Assembly on Monday.
The Speaker has nominated several MLAs to similar posts in various universities.
Five MLAs have been nominated to the Senate of the University of Madras. They include A. Vetriazhagan, Joseph Samuel, Idream R. Murthy, M. Senthilkumar and Maragatham Kumaravel. Mr. Senthilkumar and Ms. Kumaravel belong to the Opposition AIADMK.
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Among other postings are M. Sinthanai Selvan of the VCK to Annamalai University; M.H. Jawahirullah to Teacher Education University; E.R. Eswaran and R. Ganesh of the Congress to Bharathiar University; A.J. Mani Kannan to Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University; V.P. Nagaimaali to Tamil Nadu Dr. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University; T.K.G. Neelamegam and M. Prabhaharan to Tamil University; and A.P. Nandakumar and Ka. So. Ka. Kannan to Tiruvalluvar University.
All the MLAs will hold the post for three years. If they cease to be a member of the Assembly during this period, their tenure in the Syndicate will also come to an end.
The appointment of Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin has drawn varied responses from Anna University faculty. While some professors believe his appointment will bring support from the government for the university, others feel a high-profile person would remain inaccessible to professors.
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A professor said accessibility of the MLA would help them present their concerns and grievances. “When R. Natraj was in the Syndicate, it helped immensely as he was always accessible. The faculty could walk into his office at any time, and he had respect for the faculty. We have had some MLAs whom we could not approach as they belonged to constituencies outside the city,” the professor added.
However, this time around, the appointees belong to the city/town where the university is situated.