Govi. Chezhiaan. File
| Photo Credit: Akhila Easwaran
Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister Govi. Chezhiaan skipped the Anna University convocation in Chennai on Wednesday (February 4, 2026), where Governor-Chancellor R.N. Ravi participated and gave away medals and certificate to graduands.
The Minister was not reachable over the phone, but sources said his decision to miss the convocation was “inevitable”. He abstained from the University of Madras convocation last month as well. The acrimony between the Governor and the State government has, of late, led to a stalemate over appointment of Vice-Chancellors to 16 of the 22 State universities that have since been lying vacant. On several occasions in the past, Mr. Chezhiaan had spoken strongly against the Governor’s actions, especially in relation to State universities of which he is the Chancellor.
Meanwhile, at the convocation, as many as 1,50,495 students in total received their degrees. Sixty six first-rank holders of undergraduate programmes received their medals and 753 research scholars received their PhD degrees on stage.
Delivering the convocation address, Mylswamy Annaduari, former director, Satellite Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), urged students acquire new skills to stay relevant for the future. Quoting the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, Dr. Annadurai said that by 2030, 170 million new jobs will be created globally while 90 million current jobs would change forms or disappear, the rapid growth of AI being an important causative factor.
Giving examples from his own life, Dr. Annadurai said even after retirement, he obtained 10 patents, published 25 research papers, and wrote nine books in Tamil while contributing to private sector satellites, hybrid rockets, green hydrogen, drones for farm to borders, and robotic surgery stations. This, he said, helped him stay relevant. He asked students to embrace whatever is thrown their way rather than being disappointed at what is not.
P. Shankar, Higher Education Secretary and head of the Vice-Chancellor Convenor Committee of Anna University, presented the annual report stating that in the current year, 69 research projects have been awarded to Anna University under the Chief Minister’s Research Grant with a funding support of ₹16.55 crore. Besides, the university had secured Tamil Nadu Innovation Initiatives (TANII) funding of ₹18.66 crore for an unmanned aerial vehicle project and recycling of composite wind blades. The university, he said, has got 69 patents granted out of 89 filed, with the one on “AI-based assistive technology for visually impaired people” enabling visually impaired learners to perceive and understand visual contents.
The Tamil Nadu government, he said, has sanctioned ₹1,380 crore to Anna University for establishing “centralised lab facilities, AI platforms, and creation of e-resources to secure a place among top 150 universities in the QS World University Rankings and to be among the top 10 institutions in all NIRF categories.”
V. Kumaresan, Registrar-in-charge, Anna University, and P. Sakthivel, Controller of Examinations, participated.
Published – February 04, 2026 12:04 pm IST
