Scrapped MTech courses: HC tells Anna University to explain

Scrapped MTech courses: HC tells Anna University to explain

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2021

The Madras high court on Tuesday made it clear that it would be constrained to stay the decision of Anna University in scrapping MTech Biotechnology and MTech Computational Biology programmes for the academic year 2020-21 if the university failed to give a proper explanation for arriving at the decision.

The courses have been scrapped due to a difference of opinion between the university and the AICTE in following reservation in admission.

Justice B Pugalendhi made the observation while adjourning the plea moved by R Chitra, a student of the university challenging the decision.

When the plea came up for hearing, counsel for the petitioner, Saravanan Annadurai, submitted that the decision to scrap the courses has to be stayed as it is against the interest of the students. However, the counsel representing the university sought time to get appropriate instruction from the university. “The university must give proper and appropriate explanation, or the court will be constrained to grant interim stay as sought by the petitioner,” the judge said and adjourned the hearing to February 3.

According to the petitioner, the central government’s insistence that the university follow only 49.5% reservation and not the state’s 69% quota policy in admission is arbitrary. “The entire infrastructure, resources, salaries of staff and the teaching faculty are all taken care of by the state government. The Centre through its department of biotechnology only provides Rs 12,000 for MTech Biotechnology and Rs 12,500 MTech Computational Biology as stipend. This will not give them any right to insist that only the reservation policy of the Centre should be followed,” she said.

Since the courses are sponsored by the central government, the AICTE wanted the university to follow the 49.5% reservation policy of the centre. But the state government has directed the university to follow 69% reservation. Due to this tug of war between two agenciesour future is at stake, the petitioner said.