Chennai: Renowned educationist and former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University M. Anandakrishnan passed away on Saturday after battling against the novel Coronavirus. He was 93.
Anandakrishnan was a renowned educationist and his contributions in the area of education are significant. From scrapping of entrance exams for admission to professional courses to advocating the implementation of Tamil as medium in technical education, he pioneered modern technical and professional education.
He received the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2002 and was survived by his wife Jayalakshmi Anandakrishnan and four sons.
Born in Vaniyambadi city of Tamil Nadu, Anandakrishnan graduated in Civil Engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy in 1952 and did his Masters and Doctorate in the US. He carved a distinguished career spanning several continents.
Munirathna Anandakrishnan also served as chief science officer in the United Nations in New York in 1978. He had worked in UN till 1989 in various capacities.
M.K. Surappa, former V-C of Anna University, described him as a visionary, who was candid and outspoken. “Even in the meetings of IIT Councils, he was vocal. I came to know from his lecturers in the Alumni Club at the University that he was candid in his observations about the university’s administration and governance. We need more people like him who can speak up for the welfare of the university and the students,” he said.
Expressing the condolences for his death, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in a statement said Anandakrishan was honest and was like a lighthouse for the students.
He was instrumental for Tamil Nadu doing away with the common entrance test for engineering course admission and for adopting the single window admission system, Stalin said.