She said by this integration, Anna University would regain its lost glory which it had achieved globally. This would also pave way to the students to pursue a similar syllabus pattern and make themselves eligible for higher studies in research.

A Tamilnadu government press release today said that Ms Jayalalithaa was acutely conscious of the fact that education was an important tool for the development of human resources and the AIADMK government under her leadership has been taking all efforts to ensure that students are provided quality education.

In a bid to give a boost to technical education, former Chief Minister MGR had started a university in the name of Anna on the 4th of September, 1978.

In 2001, during her previous term as Chief Minister, in a bid to ensure proper administrative control and to enable students to get quality education in the 237 self-financing and aided engineering colleges, she made them affiliated colleges of Anna University.

As a result, the certificates issued by Anna University were given greater recognition globally.

Later, between 2007 and 2010, Anna University was divided and 5 new Anna Technical Universities were created in Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Tirunelvelli and Madurai.

Opening more universities alone will not be of any help in improving the quality of education. As a consequence, Anna University lost its position of strength after it was divided into 5 technical universities and the quality of education deteriorated.

Hence, a Bill was passed by the state legislature in 2011, after Ms Jayalalithaa was voted back to power, to merge these universities under Anna University with a view to ensuring uniform standards in technical education across the state.

A Monitoring committee headed by the additional chief secretary for the department of municipal administration and drinking water supply,Sheela Balakrishnan, IAS, submitted a review document to Ms Jayalalithaa which contained details of the students, teaching and non teaching staff, and movable and immovable properties of the 5 universities.

Ms Jayalalithaa who scrutinized the details, ordered integration of the 5 universities into one, the Anna University in Chennai.

As ordered by Ms Jayalalithaa, the Anna Universities Integration Act, which was brought to unify the 5 technical universities would come into effect from the 1st of August.

Consequently, the 535 self-financing and aided engineering colleges in Tamilnadu would come under the university. Further, the 12 affiliated colleges which come under the technical universities in Trichy, Tirunelvelli, Chennai and Madurai would be affiliated to the Anna University, Chennai.

For administrative purposes, zonal offices would be opened in Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and  Madurai, the release said.

These zonal offices would supervise the functioning of the affiliated colleges and also would function as the grievance cell for students studying in these colleges, the release added.

Further, the various departments of Anna Technical University, Trichy  and Chennai would be converted as the Anna University Allied College and the students could pursue their education from there.

Students pursuing their graduate and post graduate studies from the various departments of Anna Technical Universities can continue their studies at the zonal offices in Coimbatore, Madurai and Tirunelvelli.

For those who joined these five universities before 2011-2012, all examinations for November-December 2011 were conducted at the campus of the respective universities. Examinations, including the ones held in January and in May 2012 were conducted by Anna University . In Future as ordered by the Chief Minister, all the examinations will be conducted by the Anna University through the 17 zonal offices, the release said.