Minister for Higher Education P. Viswanathan addressing a review meeting in Tirunelveli on Monday. | Photo Credit: A.

SHAIKMOHIDEEN Filling of 2,800-odd vacancies in the government colleges across Tamil Nadu will be completed within a month after interviewing the candidates, who have passed the examination conducted by the Teachers Recruitment Board in 2025, and their certificate verification, Minister for Higher Education P. Viswanathan has said.Speaking to reporters here on Monday after the third round of regional review meeting on higher education, Mr.

Viswanathan said appointment of teachers in the government-aided and the government colleges was initiated through TRB 2025, but the results were not announced. The TVK government, immediately after assuming office, declared the TRB results.

Of the 42,000 candidates appeared for the 2,800 posts, 27,000 students cleared the examination.“Hence, the interview and certificate verification will be completed within a month,” Mr. Viswanathan said adding that the 6,000-odd vacancies in the government colleges would be filled through the TRB within next 2 years.The Minister said the appointment of Vice-Chancellors to the universities would be done immediately after the cases before the courts were disposed of.

He recalled that the ‘tug of war’ between the Governor and the Chief Minister between 2021 to 2026 hampered the appointment of VCs to the State-run universities. The situation had now improved with a “cordial relationship” prevailing between the Chief Minister and the Governor even as cases in connection with the appointment of Vice-Chancellors were pending before High Court and the Supreme Court.As a temporary arrangement, the Tamil Nadu Government had formed Convenor’s Committee to steer 11 universities where the VC posts were vacant while VC (in-charge) had been appointed in Manonmaniam Sundaranar and Alagappa Universities to ensure hassle-free functioning of these universities until the legal entangles were sorted out.He said the fee fixation for some of the courses being offered by the self-financing colleges and private universities of Tamil Nadu was under consideration.

The right fee structure would be finalised based on the ongoing discussion with the college managements.The Minister informed that the career advancement scheme benefits would be disbursed with arrears to the professors soon as this proposal was pending before the Finance Department for its approval.He said the Tamil Nadu Government had advised the banks to ensure collateral-free disbursal of educational loans up to ₹20 lakh to the students by involving Lead District Bank, District Collector and an experienced senior professor in every district.He appealed to the parents to meet the managers of the banks after 5 p.m. to discuss with them their educational loan applications so that they would be free from their routine business.Mr. Viswanathan said today’s meeting with the students, teachers and the principals of the government and government-aided colleges from Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari was organised to listen to their grievances and solicit suggestions from the stakeholders to improve the functioning of Department of Higher Education.The students, in their petitions submitted to the Minister, had requested him to improve infrastructure in their colleges that included additional classrooms, playgrounds, clean toilets, increased bus service, educational loan etc.The principals had prayed for additional classrooms and filling of teaching posts.Tamil Nadu Technical Education Director P.

Rathinasamy, Tamil Nadu State Higher Education Council Vice-Chairman M.P. Vijayakumar, District Collector Anand Mohan, Tirunelveli MP C.

Robert Bruce, Kanniyakumari MP Vijay Vasanth, MLAs Reddiyarpatti V. Narayanan and R.S.

Murughan participated in the meeting.