Tamil Nadu appoints regular principals to 100+ colleges as university vice‑chancellor vacancies persist

The Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department has approved the promotion of 129 associate professors to Grade II principals, enabling more than 100 government arts and science colleges to receive regular principals for the first time in years. The move follows a Madras High Court decision that lifted a stay on seniority‑based promotions, allowing the counselling and posting process to begin.

At the same time, fifteen state universities—including the University of Madras, Annamalai University and Madurai Kamaraj University—remain without permanent vice‑chancellors. Many also lack registrars, controllers of examinations and other senior administrators, forcing the state to rely on IAS officers as remote convenors. The prolonged vacancies have disrupted governance, research and routine academic activities across the higher‑education system.