Madras High Court asks Tamil Nadu to name Vice‑Chancellors for 14 state universities

The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered the Tamil Nadu government to explain when all 14 state‑run universities will have duly appointed Vice‑Chancellors and fully constituted Syndicates. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh asked Advocate General Vijay Narayan to appear for the Higher Education Secretary, whom the judge had impleaded suo motu, and to give reasons for the vacancies by Nov 17, 2026. The judge noted that the universities have been without permanent heads for three to four years, forcing them to operate under temporary Registrars and Convenor Committees headed by an IAS officer. Senior counsel R. Singaravelan, representing retired staff of Annamalai University, said the Registrar cannot run the campus without a Vice‑Chancellor or Syndicate, and that a Convenor Committee is only a stop‑gap. The court also heard that pensions for retired employees of Annamalai University are still pending, prompting eight sub‑applications to reopen contempt petitions against the registrar. In related matters, the court recorded that retirement benefits for 500 former staff of the University of Madras have been settled after prolonged pressure, while Anna University faces a similar delay. The judge warned that the continued absence of proper leadership directly harms the functioning of colleges under these universities and could damage higher education in the state. He directed the Higher Education Secretary to report all steps taken so far to restore normalcy in the 14 institutions. ## Context The lack of permanent Vice‑Chancellors is a systemic issue in Tamil Nadu’s public university system, where temporary committees have struggled to manage academic and administrative affairs, leading to delays in pensions and other essential services.