CHENNAI: Despite the passing of two years since the exposure of the ghost faculty scam, Anna University (AU) is yet to take substantial action against the implicated colleges and faculty members.
While the university has focused on announcing new measures such as biometric authentication for faculty, video recording of college inspections and geo-tagging of faculty members, there is little transparency regarding the status of its implementation.
“We have filed multiple RTI requests over the past six months seeking details about the new biometric systems and video recording protocols, but so far, no response has been received,” said M Radhakrishnan of Arappor Iyakkam, the organisation that uncovered the scam.
Last year, two separate panels — one set up by AU and another by the higher education department — submitted its reports, recommending action against the involved colleges. The reports were presented before the syndicate, but no action has been initiated. “The varsity has only issued show-cause notices to the colleges involved. This is merely a superficial response,” Radhakrishnan said.
Though AU had rolled out procedural changes, it failed to provide clarity on its implementation. Another alarming development is the removal of critical data from AU’s website. In the past, the website provided information about affiliated colleges, including faculty rosters and enrolment figures. However, since the 2024-25 academic year, this data has been erased, leaving the public with no access to its vital records.
E Balagurusamy, former AU V-C, expressed concern that the university’s inaction is putting students’ future at risk. “This is a criminal matter,” he said.
The scam, which uncovered over 200 faculty members being simultaneously employed at multiple engineering colleges affiliated with AU, was a major embarrassment for the institution. An internal probe revealed over 2,000 dubious faculty entries, implicating more than 200 colleges. Yet, no concrete action has been taken.
Following the scam, former V-C R Velraj was suspended, and the syndicate also relieved 11 university officials, including registrar J Prakash and director of affiliation VR Giri Dev, to facilitate a DVAC probe. While the governor revoked Velraj’s suspension, the HC quashed the FIR against Dev.
The AU registrar was unavailable for comments.
This article is written by Binita Jaiswal
