Updated on: Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said legal action would be taken against those involved in the fake mark sheet scam, which came to light during the ongoing counselling at the Anna University for engineering and medical admissions in the State.
Talking to reporters after witnessing the counselling process and handing over seat allotment letters to a couple of students at the Anna University, Karunanidhi said soon after the scam came to light Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy and University Vice-Chancellor P Mannar Jawahar and other officials held consultations on the issue.
Necessary steps had already been taken in this regard and the government would take action as per law against those indulging in such malpractices, he added. Karunanidhi also appealed to the gullible people to be cautious and not fall prey to such malpractices. When asked agents roaming inside the University premises promising seats, he said a team, constituted to look into it, would probe the issue and take necessary action.
The Chief Minister said of the 36,538 students called for counselling, 34,597 were alloted engineering seats. He said 13,437 first generation graduates were given seats this year and the government would provide various grants to them, including free education. ''I hope that this number will increase and I wish that this should increase in future,'' he added.
It may be recalled that the University authorities found that more than 50 students have submitted photo copies of fake mark sheets, while seeking admissions to Engineering and Medical courses under the single window system of counselling.
Of this ten students had submitted bogus mark sheets during admission for medical courses. The remaining 40 had submitted fake mark certificates while aspiring for Engineering courses. The Anna University had withheld the allotment letters issued to all the 51 students who had given fake mark sheets.