The Hindu : Kerala News : Legislation was the only option, Antony tells K.T. Thomas

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 15, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Legislation was the only option, Antony tells K.T. Thomas

By George Jacob

KOTTAYAM, JULY 14. In a letter to K.T. Thomas, chairman, Committee for Unaided Professional Colleges, the Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, has admitted that in the face of the dissatisfaction from various quarters on the recommendations of the Committee, the only alternative before the Government was to go in for a new legislation. ``I know, the matter is not ending here. There are still more hurdles to overcome,'' the letter says.

The Chief Minister has made the comments in response to a letter from Mr. Thomas, who had come down heavily on the Chief Minister for giving in to the pressures and for the huge waste of public money for the Committee.

The letter says: ``Once the recommendation of the Committee has been published, there arose widespread protests from every side. The student community, their parents and political parties came out with loud protests. Similarly, the managements also began to complain about the fees suggested.

``All sections were dissatisfied and it was difficult for the Government to arrive at a consensus. The only alternative for the Government to get over the stalemate was to pass the legislation,'' Mr. Antony says referring to the circumstances that led to the enactment of the new law.

Giving his version of the background to the present imbroglio, the Chief Minister points out that ``the State Government had publicly announced a policy of 50 per cent merit quota and 50 per cent management quota and it genuinely believed that the managements have accepted this stand and are agreeable to the Government directive. Everything went into disarray in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict with the managements demanding more fee, the student community insisting on government fee and a Common Entrance Test and the Opposition parties adopting a very defiant stand.''

Interestingly, Mr. Antony says that he was greatly impressed by the dedicated work rendered by Mr. Thomas and his expert team in examining the various pros and cons in fixing the fee structure. He also thanked the former judge for the ``noble services rendered in the endeavour to disentangle this hard knot.''

Mr. Thomas had written the letter in the wake of the Chief Minister's public statement that the Committee had become irrelevant following the enactment of the Self-financing colleges Bill in the Assembly.

Mr. Thomas, in his letter, had pointed out that ``though the Committee desired to fix up different rates of fee for different colleges, we found it extremely difficult to do so during this year because it required at least three days each for every college, which would have consumed a minimum of 450 days. As that delay would have rendered this academic year in disarray, we fixed up a uniform rate of fee for one discipline for the time being.''

Citing the Reserve Bank circular on educational loans, Mr. Thomas had asked the Chief Minister that ``the threats made by some students organisations (for lowering the fee) should not have been made a ground to scuttle the well thought out ratio proposed by the highest tribunal in the land.

``A Government genuflecting before the unmerited and illegal demands of some agitationists by creating unconstitutional legislation would crack the democratic crust of our republic. Such yielding to bully tactics would erode the public confidence in the Government. It would lead to demoralisation of the people,'' the former Supreme Court judge said.

Referring to the pressure from the managements, Mr. Thomas said that he should have ``asked them how they managed last year (when Rs.1.76 lakhs per annum was allowed to be collected only from 50 students and Rs.12,000 from the other 50). If they could manage with last year's fee

collection of Rs.94 lakhs there is no reason to be dissatisfied with this year's collection of Rs.1.13 crores,'' he said

He had also pointed to the huge loss of money suffered by the exchequer for the Committee. ``If the legislation which now you are brining in could have been passed to bypass the decisions of an 11-judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India, I am at a loss to appreciate why you wanted two committees to undertake an exercise involving Rs.15-lakh loss of public money, besides the strain and time of so many persons wasted,'' the letter said.

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

Kerala

News Update

Stories in this Section

State to seek special package for farmers

`Kerala doctor facing trouble in Pakistan'

Legislation was the only option, Antony tells K.T. Thomas

Farmers' suicide rocks the House again

Permission sought to start more Plus Two courses

HIV-infected children denied entry into school

Lease rental on forest land to be revised

Metcon TMT bars. bars.

CPI(M) activist killed in blast

Information Act: Government framing rules

Malayala dictionary