CHENNAI: Putting forth a strong pitch for making chief ministers as chancellor of state universities following the example set by former chief minister J Jayalalithaa a decade ago, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday wholeheartedly commended the former for her decision to make CM as chancellor of Tamil Nadu Dr J Jayalalithaa Music and Fine Arts University in 2013.
Participating in the convocation of the university, Stalin said, “Only this university has the CM as its chancellor. I am not speaking politics but facts. Only when CMs function as chancellors of universities, it would augur well for their growth and functioning. The very objective will be defeated if the responsibility is vested with others. Keeping this in mind, Jayalalithaa took a decision to make CM chancellor of this university and I wholeheartedly commend her move.”
Stating that honorary doctorates have been conferred on musician PM Sundaram and playback singer P Susheela during this convocation, Stalin said, “Only because the CM, whom people have elected, functions as chancellor of this university, decisions like honouring music experts could be taken. That is why we say the CM should be the chancellor of all universities. For that purpose, we have adopted bills and the Supreme Court is hearing cases relating to these. Very soon, we expect good news.”
The Assembly on Saturday adopted 10 bills for which Governor RN Ravi had withheld assent and sent them back to the governor and the SC also said the governor cannot withhold assent to the re-adopted bills. Of the 10 bills, most of them were related to empowering the government in appointment of vice-chancellors - i.e., clipping the powers of the governor in this aspect.
A bill relating to appointment of CM as chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Siddha Medical University Bill, 2022 has been reserved for the President’s assent. Stalin said education must be brought under state list from concurrent list, as allocated in the Constitution, reiterating his stand on the issue. Only then, states can achieve the goal of education and higher education for all. “I seek this not just for Tamil Nadu but for all states. Education is a fair right of everyone and it should be made available to all and there should not be any hindrance. It is the policy of the Dravidian model governance,” he added.
Recalling how the university serves the propagation and protection of various art forms of Tamil Nadu, Stalin said, “For the first time, Ph.Ds have been given. In all, around 3,500 students received PhD, M.Phil, P.G, U.G and diploma certificates. Besides, many new courses in various art forms have been started. This university should give importance to Tamil music and retrieve ancient Tamil music texts.” Stalin announced that the state grant for the music varsity would be increased to Rs 3 crore from the next fiscal and an allocation of Rs 1 crore for including a research centre would be provided.
Singer P Susheela gets honorary doctorate
Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday honoured veteran playback singer P Susheela with an honorary doctorate from the Tamil Nadu Dr J Jayalalithaa Fine Arts University. He also honoured musician PM Sundaram with an honorary doctorate. Going down the memory lane, the chief minister said he has been a fan of Susheela’s songs for a very long time and that whenever travelling during the night, he used to listen to her songs. Stalin also sang a few lines from her popular song “Nee Illadha Ulagathile Nimmathi Illai ‘’. Stalin also praised Sundaram for being a multifaceted music expert who has authored several books on music.