Anna University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| |
| Motto | Progress Through Knowledge |
|---|---|
| Established | 1978 |
| Type | Affiliating University |
| Vice-Chancellor | Dr. D. Viswanathan |
| Location | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Campus | 100 acres (400,000 m²) |
| Website | http://www.annauniv.edu/ |
Anna University is one of India's premier universities. Established in 1978, it offers higher education in Engineering, Technology and Allied Sciences.
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[edit] History
Anna University was formed on 4th September 1978 as a unitary type of university. It integrated several well-known technical institutions in the city of Chennai (previousy known as Madras), the oldest of which was the College of Engineering, Guindy, started in 1794. Since December 2001, it has become a large affiliating university, with almost all engineering colleges in the state of Tamil Nadu under its fold.
[edit] Campus
The University's main campus is situated in the southern part of Chennai and extends over 100 acres (400,000 m²) adjoining the Adyar River and the Raj Bhavan. It contains the College of Engineering, Guindy, the Alagappa College of Technology, and the School of Architecture and Planning. The campus also houses three technological departments of the University of Madras. The Madras Institute Of Technology at Chrompet constitutes the second campus and extends over 200,000 m². The third campus of the University is located at Taramani near the Instronic campus, Adyar.
[edit] Constituent Colleges
- College of Engineering, Guindy
- Alagappa College of Technology
- Madras Institute of Technology
- School of Architecture and Planning
[edit] Aided and Affiliated Colleges
The Anna University Amendment Act of 2001 brought almost all Engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu under the University. This includes 6 Government Engineering colleges, 3 government-aided private institutions, and 225 Self-Financing Colleges.
[edit] Notable Academics associated with Anna University
- Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India.
- Prof. Raj Reddy, 1994 Turing Award winner, former Dean of the School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Perarignar Anna University of Technology (PAUT) was the name used from 1978 through 1982. In 1982 the current name of Anna University was coined primarily removing the prefix "Perarignar".
- Recently, Anna University has been granted 5 STAR status by the National Accreditation Committee.
- Anna university was ranked in the 8th position among top engineering colleges in India, competing with the elite institutions such as IIT's and NIT.
[edit] Recent Events
[edit] Cancellation of Entrance Exams
In June 2005, the Government of Tamil Nadu decided to discontinue the TNPCEE, an entrance examination for professional courses in all Engineering and Medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, that is held annually by Anna University, and to base admissions into professional courses solely based on the Higher Secondary school examinations. This order was challenged in the court. The court decided to go with the TNPCEE model for admission. So, for the year 2006, the admission process will be very similar to previous year. In fact, this year a larger number of seats will be surrendered to the single window system from the majority colleges.
[edit] Controversy over Dress Code and Mobile Phones
In September 2005 the Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, Dr. D. Viswanathan, issued an edict prescribing a dress code for the students of Anna University and its affiliated colleges, a move that has invited widespread condemnation and ridicule from student bodies, social activists and writers. The dress code has been accused of being sexist as it forbids female students from wearing certain types of clothes including jeans, T-shirts, skirts and sleeveless or tight-fitting dresses. <ref name="dresscode">On dissent and a dress code, Vani Doraisamy, The Hindu</ref> Students have also been disallowed from possessing mobile phones on campus.<ref name="dresscode"/>
The backlash seems to have taken the university administration unawares, and it has since toned down its approach. The Vice-Chancellor has clarified that there will be no "military-like" strictness in enforcing the code, and that the dress code is not limited to girls: the rule forbidding jeans and T-shirts also extends to the male students at the university. Though that is what he said, it is nevertheless enforced with military-like strictness and he even went to the extent of confiscating mobile phones from the students in the hostel who use them as their only means of communication with their parents.
[edit] References
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