Over 2,000 vacancies in this Tamil Nadu varsity filled by 'phantom' professors: Report

Anti-corruption group Arappor Iyakkam reportedly found that there were as many as 353 such 'phantom' professors, even as the initial probe showed 211. The anti-corruption group has further alleged that one of the 211 professors was listed as a faculty member in 32 different colleges.

Chennai-based Anna University, along with AICTE and Tamil Nadu's Higher Education Department, is set to a form high-level committee to probe the filling of around 2,500 vacancies in the varsity by a meagre 211 "phantom" professors. The word phantom refers to illusionary, meaning many names in the varsity faculty roster supposedly do not exist, but are listed against the vacancies.

The revelation surfaced in a report by Indian Express which quoted Arappor Iyakkam—an anti-corruption group in Chennai—alleging that several such faculty positions in engineering colleges affiliated to the Anna University were being filled by "phantom" professors. In one instance, the group is said to have found a single person holding at least 30 different posts.

State Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi also intervened in the matter and has sought a detailed report from the Chennai varsity.

Stating that his office discovered about 211 people working as full-time faculty in multiple colleges, Anna University Vice Chancellor R Velraj told the paper: “This doesn’t mean that they were working in all colleges at the same time. It is just on the records. Colleges have done it to retain their affiliation during the inspections done by the university. These colleges might have paid some money to these professors to use their names on records. It was a fraud to mislead the inspection teams I believe.”

The preliminary probe gathered details from the V-C's office that revealed there were 52,500 faculty members registered with 433 affiliated engineering colleges, and duplication was found in 2,500 cases.

Arappor Iyakkam reportedly also found that there were as many as 353 such "phantom" professors, even as the initial probe showed 211. The anti-corruption group has further alleged that one of the 211 professors was listed as a faculty member in 32 different colleges.

Complaints have been filed against the above discrepancies with the Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Governor R N Ravi, Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena, Higher Education Minister Ponmudi, and Higher Education Secretary Pradeep Yadav.

The anti-corruption group, meanwhile, has demanded a thorough probe into the varsity's former director of Centre for Affiliation of Institutions (CAI), members of its Inspection Committee, 224 college administrators, and the 353 implicated professors.

The CAI at Anna University conducts yearly inspections of engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, wherein the body evaluates faculty numbers, qualifications, and infrastructure, like practical exam labs.

In the past, the group has alleged that while AICTE mandates each professor have a unique ID, as many as 13,891 professors were found with fraudulent IDs.