CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government will take measures to make Anna University one of the top 10 institutions in the country and among the top 150 in the global QS rankings within the next five years, said Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, in his budget speech in the Assembly on Friday.
The minister made the ambitious announcement while allocating Rs.8,494 crore for the higher education department this year, which is almost Rs 280 crores more than previous year. The State government had allocated Rs 8,212 crore for higher education for the fiscal year 2024-25.
The minister said that a roadmap will be drawn up to achieve the goal set for Anna University.
"Under this initiative, smart classrooms, state-of-the-art technology labs, new research and development centres, start-up parks, and virtual labs will be established with the support of leading technology companies in Anna University," said the minister.
He further said that to enhance the learning and teaching experience, leading technical experts and foreign professors will be engaged in special short-term research programs of up to three months. New schemes will be introduced to strengthen the research of PhD and postdoctoral students.
Tackling financial crisis
The budget for 2025-26 also showed the state government’s intent in tackling the financial crisis being faced by various state universities.
"To mitigate the fiscal constraints faced by State Universities, block grant will be enhanced to Rs.700 crore," announced the minister. To enhance academic performance, strengthen research and development, provide continuous teacher training, modernize the curricula, reform the examination system and administration in State universities across Tamil Nadu, a dedicated corpus fund of Rs.200 crore will be established.
Global Capability Centres and manufacturing industries will be provided incentive grants to conduct research in product design, development and innovation in collaboration with State Universities, colleges and research Centres. For this, Rs.25 crore has been allocated towards setting up the Industrial Research and Innovation Fund to facilitate industry-academia partnership.
The state government has announced to increase an additional 15,000 seats in Government Arts and Science Colleges from the upcoming academic year with an allocation of Rs.15 crore.
New govt arts and Science Colleges will be started in Coonoor in the Nilgiris district, Natham in Dindigul, Alandur in Chennai, Vikravandi in Villupuram, Cheyyur in Chengalpattu, Manamadurai in Sivagangai, Muthupettai in Tiruvarur, Thiruvidaimaruthur in Thanjavur, Perambalur, and Ottapidaram in Thoothukudi district, said the minister.
Focussing on strengthening research activities in Basic Sciences and Mathematics, the state government has decided to set up two Basic Sciences and Mathematics Research Centres in Chennai and Coimbatore, in collaboration with renowned research institutes like Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) at a cost of Rs 100 crore.
To meet the evolving technological advancements and industry demands in Government Engineering Colleges across Tamil Nadu, new degree courses in emerging fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Robotics, Electric Vehicles Technology and Environmental Engineering will be introduced from the next academic year.