VCs appointed for two technical universities in TN

Chennai, Feb 1 (UNI) The Tamil Nadu government has established two technical universities on the lines of Anna University in Coimbatore and Tiruchirapalli and appointed Prof R Radhakrishnan and Prof V Ramachandran as its Vice-Chancellors respectively.

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi appointed Prof Radhakrishnan and Mr Ramachandran, Professor in Computer science department and Director Ramanujam of Maths centre in Anna University as the Vice Chancellors of the Coimbatore and Tiruchirapalli Technical Universities, an official release here said.

Taking into consideration that the need for engineering and technical education was increasing and the growing requirement for specialised higher levels, the government decided to establish two technical universities.

Mr Radhakrishnan's appointment as Vice-Chancellor of Coimbatore Technical University raised many eyebrows in the educational circles, especially in Anna University. Faculty members were of the view that he was not competent to hold the high office.

Mr Radhakrishnan was appointed as Personal Secretary (PS) to Mr Kalanidhi when he became the Vice-Chancellor of Anna University in 1992. He continued in the post when Mr E Balagurusamy became the Vice-Chancellor in 2002. After a brief stint Mr Radhakrishnan was removed from the post.

Surprisingly, the present Vice-Chancellor D Viswanthan reinstated him as his PS, only to be removed from the post within three months, after which, Mr Radhakrishnan had even filed a case, challenging the appointment of Mr Viswanathan as Vice-Chancellor.

Mr Radhakrishnan, who had also served as the PS to Dr A P J Abdul Kalam during his tenure as Emirates Professor at Anna University, was presently the Director at Centre for Intellectual Property Rights at the University.

UNI