The Hindu : Petition seeks to retain B.Ed. college list

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 23, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Petition seeks to retain B.Ed. college list

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, JAN. 22. A writ petition was today filed before the Kerala High Court seeking to restrain the State Government from withdrawing the list of self-financing B.Ed. colleges given to the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

The petition was filed by Thomas K. Augustine, a lawyer and another person aspiring to join the B.Ed. course. The petition also sought a direction to the NCTE to process all the pending list of colleges for which the Government had given no-objection certificate (NOC) for starting B.Ed. courses on or before December 31, 2003. The petitioners pointed out that there was no need for evaluating the colleges by the expert committee before issuing NOCs. There was no mandatory provision in any law to undertake such an evaluation task. In fact, it was the NCTE, which should undertake the evaluation process. It was for the NCTE to check whether the colleges applied had the necessary infrastructure and other facilities.

Direction to Government

Meanwhile, Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair has directed the Government pleader to state the Government's final decision on the B.Ed. college issue in the affidavit to be filed before the court on January 27. The court issued the direction when newspaper reports appearing on the issue today was brought to the notice of the court by the counsel for the Lazar Nadar Education and Research Foundation, Thiruvananthapuram. He complained before the court that the Government was yet to supply him the documents as directed by the court. The court had earlier directed the Principal Secretary, Higher Education to file a detailed affidavit in response to a contempt petition filed in the B.Ed. college case.

Assurance to Bench

The Government today assured a Bench comprising Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Pius Kuriakose that if any law and order problem arose in the Velappaya temple in Thrissur district, the police would take appropriate measures.

The Bench was given the assurance while disposing of a writ petition seeking police protection filed by the Cochin Devaswom Board. According to the Board, the Ayyappa Seva Samithi, a parallel samithi, had conducted Ayyappan Vilakku at the temple without the permission of the court. Besides, the activists of the samithi had entered into the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and threatened the Melshanti. Though a complaint was lodged with the police, no action had been taken.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News Update

Stories in this Section

Kannur maintains lead in school youth festival

Mar Ivanios College takes lead in varsity youth fete

`Clarify Government's stand on B.Ed. colleges'

Petition seeks to retain B.Ed. college list

Bills referred to Subject Committees

Senior Congress MLAs criticise Karunakaran

Budget today

Stop operations of Coke unit, VS tells Government

Crisis in Congress: pressure mounting on Antony

Reconsider decision on regional merit quota: VS

Centres for electronic filing of IT returns

Exempted

Briefly