Chennai, May 29 (PTI) Renowned academician and Padmashri recipient M Anandakrishnan died here on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister M K Stalin and many others condoled the death of the former Vice Chancellor of Anna University.
The deceased, in his early 90s, was reportedly under treatment for COVID-19.
Anandakrishnan had earlier served as chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT, Kanpur.
In his condolence message, Purohit expressed anguish over the demise of the educationist.
Anandakrishnan served in the United Nations at several levels, including Deputy Director of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, he recalled.
"His demise is a great loss for technical education in Tamil Nadu and the whole country," Purohit said.
Stalin paid rich tributes to Anandakrishnan and recalled his contributions in the field of technical education.
Hailing Anandakrishnan as a "light house" for students, Stalin recalled that his late father and former chief minister M Karunanidhi had earlier appointed him as the V-C of the premier technical varsity, Anna University here.
During his stint there, Anandakrishnan ensured world class education by bringing in adequate infrastructure at the university, Stalin said in a statement.
"He treated transparent administration and progress in students' education as his two eyes," Stalin added.
It was his report on doing away with entrance exams during an earlier DMK regime that enabled rural students get easier access to professional education, he pointed out.
PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss also condoled the demise of the educationist.
