The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Colleges to offer 25 p.c. seats to poor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 19, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Colleges to offer 25 p.c. seats to poor

Staff Reporter

Subsidised fee will be equal to the one charged for a free seat in government colleges

BANGALORE: Professional colleges attached to the Karnataka Private Medical and Dental Colleges Association will offer 25 per cent seats in each institution for weaker sections of society at a subsidised cost. The subsidised fee would be equal to the one charged for a free seat in government colleges, said M.R. Jayaram, chairman of the Consortium of Medical, Dental and Engineering Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK).

The 25-per cent seats would be earmarked for students from economically weak families, particularly from Kannada-medium schools in rural areas and for students belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories, Mr. Jayaram told presspersons here. An association member said the fee would be in the range of Rs. 36,000 for an MBBS seat.

Ruling out a drastic increase in fee next year, Mr. Jayaram said fee would be fixed based not only on the growth and expansion plans of the institutions but also on the welfare of the students. The average fee for MBBS course, which was in the range of Rs. 2.1 lakhs to 2.2 lakhs, is likely to go up by only about Rs. 50,000.

Centralised counselling

The association has also decided to hold a centralised counselling for seat selection and fee payment in all its member institutions. Provided the existing Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell was made a neutral, autonomous body and not a government department, the association was also open for a single entrance test to determine merit for college admissions, Mr. Jayaram said.

Subject to details being worked out, he said the association was also willing to establish a single window agency for admissions. But the Government was not open to a common test, the managements would continue with the COMEDK test.

He assured that no member of the association would charge capitation fee in any form "directly or indirectly." Member institutions found to collect the fee would be expelled from the association, he added. On the proposed Central legislation, Mr. Jayaram hoped that without giving a fair trial to the principles of autonomy with merit-based criteria laid down by the Supreme Court, a hasty legislation would not be brought to bring back regulation licences and controls in the guise of social justice. Unaided colleges should be given an opportunity to prove them worthy of the autonomy granted by the court, he said.

Alleging that the Government was more concerned about "government justice" than "social justice," Mr. Jayaram said the State was upset with the judgment because it had lost its control over the managements.

To a query on Central legislation, he said the association would challenge any amendment to the Constitution. "They cannot do so exclusively for one single sector (education). Ultimately, it is a decision between the judiciary and Parliament."

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