‘T.N. government actively pursuing V-C appointment issue in courts’

‘T.N. government actively pursuing V-C appointment issue in courts’

The Hindu Bureau

Chennai 27.08.2026

The State government has been taking all necessary steps to find a solution to the impasse over appointment of Vice-Chancellors to State-run universities, Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan told the Assembly recently.

Taking part in the debate on the demand for grants for the Higher Education Department, he said the issue had been caught up in litigation at the Madras High Court, and the government was taking steps, legally and administratively, to find a solution.

Twelve out of 13 universities in the State, with the exception of Mother Teresa Women’s University, have been functioning without Vice-Chancellors for several years, with Manonmaniam Sundaranar University and Alagappa University being the latest to be added to the list.

Mr. Viswanathan also announced that the government would implement a Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for teachers of government-aided arts and science colleges, government and government-aided engineering colleges, and polytechnic colleges from September 1, with prospective effect. This has been a long-standing issue for the department, with teachers of government-aided colleges staging multiple agitations over the years, demanding the implementation of CAS.

The Minister announced that the government would take steps to fill the 6,000-plus vacancies in government arts and science and technical institutions through the Teachers’ Recruitment Board in three phases. Besides, the ongoing process of recruitment of 2,708 assistant professors to government arts and science colleges will be completed soon. The honorarium of guest lecturers in government arts and science and technology institutions has been raised from ₹30,000 to ₹35,000 with immediate effect, while guest lecturers in polytechnic colleges will get ₹30,000, up from ₹25,000.

Mr. Viswanathan also announced the setting up of the Periyar Institute of Emerging Technologies (PIET) on the Anna University campus. The government will also enact a law to set up a School of Excellence for education and research in basic sciences.