CHENNAI: The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which is campaigning against the concept of unbridled freedom enjoyed by self-financing engineering colleges while giving admissions and fixing the fee structure, has come up with an alternative legislation on private professional educational institutions.

M. Ramadass, PMK parliamentary party leader, presented a copy of the model legislation to Union Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The party prepared it in response to the Centre's Private Professional Education Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fee) Bill 2005.

It was prepared by a panel of academics and jurists led by former Anna University Vice-Chancellor M. Anandakrishnan.

Salient features

Prof. Ramadass and PMK founder S. Ramadoss told reporters that their party had suggested that the proposed law should cover regulation of management and administration of the private colleges.

Unlike the Centre's Bill, the PMK legislation had provided for banning capitation fee. It stipulated that no individual family, firm, company or any other body of individuals, except those registered under the Societies Registration Act or Trusts Act or the Wakf Act should be permitted to establish professional education institutions.

The reservation in general category of seats should be based on the policies of the State Governments concerned.

Management quota in aided and unaided minority institutions and unaided public institutions should not exceed 50 per cent of the sanctioned intake. In aided public institutions it should not be more than 15 per cent.

The admission should be based on marks obtained in the qualifying examinations. In the event of entrance test, marks scored in the test conducted by the Centre or State Government should form the basis.

Prof. Ramadass said Mr. Singh had told him that the Centre was working on two Constitutional amendments (concerning Articles 15 and 31) to provide reservation for socially and educationally backward classes in all educational institutions other than minority institutions and for taking over the management of any educational institution.

The Bills would be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.

Asked whether he would meet Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to seek support for the PMK's model law, Dr. Ramadoss replied that he planned to meet the Chief Ministers of other southern States.

He had no such plan for Tamil Nadu as no purpose would be served.

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