Why a proposal to upgrade government, aided colleges as unitary universities was scrapped

Tamil Nadu's plan to upgrade colleges to universities faces opposition, leading to the proposal being put on hold.

While Tamil Nadu continues to expand its footprint in higher education, its attempt to go a step further by upgrading institutions as universities is yet to fructify. In 2008, the State government proposed to convert the Presidency College (the oldest in the State) and Queen Mary’s College in Chennai; the Government Arts and Science College at Kumbakonam; the Government Arts College in Coimbatore; and the Wellingdon Institute of Advanced Study in Education into unitary universities.

Following opposition from a section of the government college teachers, the State constituted a five-member committee to study the issue of upgrade of government and government-aided colleges as unitary universities. This committee was headed by eminent academic V.C. Kulandaiswamy, and comprised former Anna University Vice-Chancellor M. Anandakrishnan and others.

In its report, the committee not only batted for upgrading the colleges as unitary universities but also found that 150 colleges in the State might qualify for the upgrade on various parameters. Among the institutions that were recommended for the upgrade were Loyola College in Chennai and PSG College of Arts and Science in Coimbatore, both government-aided colleges. “The move to upgrade colleges as universities will be an historic initiative by the Tamil Nadu government. The present national policies offer most appropriate opportunities for this purpose which should not be missed at any cost,” the committee said in its report.

The committee argued that the enormous number of affiliating colleges are nearly tutorial institutions, mostly preparing their students for the undergraduate examinations. “Strictly speaking, we do not have a higher education system that conforms to international practice in institutional structure. It is obvious that we have to, over a period of time and on a planned basis, move higher education, which is now mostly in the affiliated colleges, to universities predominantly, if not completely. This is an inevitable requirement to ensure that higher education in India finds its place in its natural location where it will have the soil, the air, the salt, and the water for its sustenance and growth,” the report said.

The committee pointed out that Tamil Nadu was a late starter in establishing universities. At the time of Independence, there were just two universities in Tamil Nadu, while there were 20 universities overall in the country. By the 1960s, the number of universities in India grew to 45, but the figure remained unchanged in Tamil Nadu. However, colleges that were upgraded as universities later — the Agricultural College in Coimbatore; the College of Engineering (Anna University); and the Veterinary College (TANUVAS) — had all turned out to be a success story. Working on this experience, the committee called for upgrading government and aided colleges as unitary universities with autonomous status. To allay the apprehension of teachers of the shortlisted institutions about their service conditions, it said the conversion of a college into a university did not carry with it any provision for enhancing the control of the private management.

It said the teachers of the government colleges could be allowed to continue in government service and seek a transfer to another government college or continue in government service with the same conditions and serve in the same institution after upgrade on deputation from the government with deputation allowance.

However, protests broke out in Chennai and Coimbatore with faculty members of the shortlisted institutions opposing the plan. The Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers Association and the Association of University Teachers (AUT) were among the organisations that were at the forefront of the opposition. The AUT had announced an indefinite strike seeking withdrawal of the Bills to convert government-aided institutions into unitary universities, arguing that this would lead to privatisation of higher education.