03 / 09Professional Journey

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Dr. T. R. Paarivendhar Educationist · Founder-Chancellor, SRM

03 · Professional Journey

From the classroom to the chancellery

The dated record of his professional life falls into six stages. This page sets them out in order, with the context needed to read each one.

Dr. T. R. Paarivendhar speaking at a red lectern in front of an SRM Institute of Science and Technology banner
Speaking at an SRM Institute of Science and Technology event.
  1. 1962 – 1967

    Qualification

    The record of his professional life begins with a degree in mathematics and a professional engineering qualification. These two credentials shaped the kind of teaching and training he would offer.

    • 1962

      B.Sc. in Mathematics

      Graduated from Jamal Mohamed College, Tiruchirappalli, then affiliated to the University of Madras.[1]

    • 1967

      Membership of the Institution of Engineers

      Recorded as obtained through the Indian Institute of Engineering Technology, Kodambakkam, Chennai.[1][2]

  2. Before 1968

    Teacher and tutor

    Before he founded any institution, he taught. The sources give no exact dates for this stage, so it is shown here without them.

    • Undated

      Mathematics teacher

      Published accounts record that he began his career teaching mathematics in school.[3]

    • Undated

      Coaching centres in Chennai and Salem

      He set up coaching centres that prepared polytechnic diploma holders for the Associate Member of the Institution of Engineers examinations.[3]

    Context. Coaching for professional examinations served working candidates who could not attend full-time degree courses. It gave him direct experience of what students needed to progress, and of running an educational enterprise.

  3. 1968 – 1984

    The school years

    For its first sixteen years the SRM Group worked in school education in Chennai.

    • 1968

      The SRM Group is founded

      SRM dates its own founding to 1968. The initials stand for Shri Ramasamy Memorial.[4][5]

    • 1969

      A primary school in K. K. Nagar

      A primary school, reported as the Nightingale school, opened in K. K. Nagar, Chennai.[3]

    • 1981

      Upgraded to higher secondary

      The school was upgraded to a higher secondary school.[3]

  4. 1985 – 2001

    Professional colleges

    In 1985 the group moved from schools into professional higher education, starting with engineering and then adding health sciences and arts and science.

    • 1985

      SRM Engineering College

      Founded at Kattankulathur (Potheri), on the southern edge of the Chennai region, then in Kancheepuram district.[3][5]

    • Early 1990s

      Nursing and pharmacy colleges

      Colleges of nursing and pharmacy followed the engineering college.[3]

    • 1993–94

      Arts and science college

      An arts and science college was established, widening the group beyond professional disciplines.[3]

    Context. From the mid-1980s, privately managed self-financing colleges became a major part of engineering education in Tamil Nadu. SRM Engineering College was founded in this period and grew alongside it.

  5. 2002 – 2016

    University status, and public life

    Deemed-university status changed what the Kattankulathur institution could be. In the same period his public activity widened to include the Tamil language, media and politics.

    • 2002

      Deemed university

      The engineering college was recognised as a deemed university.[3][5] Deemed-to-be-university status, granted under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, allows an institution to design its own programmes and award its own degrees.

    • 2010

      SRM Tamil Perayam and the Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi

      The SRM Tamil Perayam was established to promote Tamil scholarship.[6] In the same year, as most sources record, he founded the Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi.[3][7]

    • 2011

      Puthiya Thalaimurai

      The Tamil news channel Puthiya Thalaimurai was launched as part of the group’s media interests.[3]

    • 2013

      SRM universities in Sikkim and Haryana

      SRM University, Sikkim and SRM University, Haryana (Sonepat) were established.[8][9]

  6. 2017 – today

    Chancellor across states, and Parliament

    A new state university in Andhra Pradesh, the current name of the Chennai institution, and a five-year term in the Lok Sabha.

    • 2017

      SRM University, AP

      Established by the SRM Trust under the Andhra Pradesh Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act, 2016. He is its Chancellor.[10]

    • 2017

      SRM Institute of Science and Technology

      The Chennai deemed university took the name SRM Institute of Science and Technology, with him as Founder-Chancellor.[5]

    • 2019

      Elected to the 17th Lok Sabha

      Elected from Perambalur, Tamil Nadu, and served from 23 May 2019 to 4 June 2024.[1]

    • 2024

      Contests Perambalur again

      Contested the seat in the 2024 general election as a candidate of the NDA alliance and was not elected.[1]

    Dr. T. R. Paarivendhar, in a white shirt, holding a signed document with a colleague at a table of media microphones in an SRM hall
    Presenting a signed document at an SRM event, in front of media microphones.

§ Reading the record

Three transitions

Three turning points connect the six stages. Each is described here only as far as the documented facts allow.

Teacher Founder

Building institutions

The move from teaching mathematics and running coaching centres to founding the SRM Group in 1968 turned individual instruction into institutional work. The first institution was a school, not a college.

College University

Degree-awarding status

Seventeen years separate the founding of SRM Engineering College (1985) from its recognition as a deemed university (2002). That status let the institution award its own degrees and later expand to further campuses under one university.

Education Public life

Parliament and party

From 2010 his public role grew to include a political party and, from 2019 to 2024, a seat in the Lok Sabha. These roles ran alongside his continuing positions as chancellor.

Next · 04Education & Institutions →

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, “T. R. Paarivendhar”. en.wikipedia.org
  2. Candidate affidavit summary, Lok Sabha 2024, Perambalur (MyNeta / ADR). myneta.info
  3. Scroll.in, profile of T. R. Pachamuthu, 29 August 2016. scroll.in
  4. SRM, founder profile “Dr. TR Paarivendhar”. srmonline.in/founder
  5. Wikipedia, “SRM Institute of Science and Technology”. en.wikipedia.org
  6. SRM Institute of Science and Technology, report on the SRM Tamil Perayam Awards 2023. srmist.edu.in
  7. Wikipedia, “Indiya Jananayaka Katchi” (gives 2011 as the founding year). en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, “SRM University, Sikkim”. en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, “SRM University, Haryana”. en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, “SRM University, Andhra Pradesh”. en.wikipedia.org