The Hindu : Front Page : Cabinet clears plan to set up technical varsity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 24, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Cabinet clears plan to set up technical varsity

Special Correspondent

Institutions and courses directly run by the universities to remain under respective varsities

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Cabinet on Thursday decided to set up a technical university in the State.

Briefing mediapersons on the Cabinet decisions, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said 82 engineering colleges, 29 colleges offering Master of Computer Application courses and 19 offering Master of Business Administration courses would be brought under the new university. These would include Government, aided and self-financing colleges. However, institutions and courses directly run by existing universities would continue to be under the respective universities.

The Chief Minister said the remuneration of doctors appointed on a contract basis to Government hospitals would be enhanced. The Cabinet had decided that this could be equal to the minimum scale recommended by the Pay Revision Commission for doctors at the entry level. Accordingly, the remuneration would go up from Rs.10,000 to more than Rs.15,000 a month.

Doctors' salary

Mr. Chandy said the Government was prepared to consider higher pay for doctors, retired from Government service, rejoining service on a contract basis. The amount could be equal to the last pay drawn by them minus their pension amount.

He said that good doctors were not showing interest in Government service and this would affect the quality of services in future, especially in medical colleges.

To encourage doctors for rural service, the Government proposed legislation to restore rural service quota for their admission to post-graduate courses. The draft legislation had been sent for the prior approval of the President. The quota had been lost because of conditions for admission stipulated by the Supreme Court.

High Court Bench

The Chief Minister said both the State and Central Governments favoured establishment of a High Court Bench in Thiruvananthapuram. The Union Law Ministry wanted a joint proposal by the Chief Minister and the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court in this regard. This had not materialised. He would discuss the matter with the new Chief Justice shortly.

Loans

He said the Government would not spend much money for publicity as the West Bengal Government was doing before the elections.

The Government had so far availed loans totalling Rs.20,430 cores. Of this, about Rs.16,000 crores was spent on Plan projects and about Rs.3,000 crores on paying the liabilities incurred by the previous Government.

Only less than Rs.1,000 crores had been spent for other purposes, the Chief Minister said.

Asked about the report that the CBI had found that all the question papers of the SSLC examination held last year had been leaked, the Chief Minister said it was another misleading report in the media.

He said the Government could not do much for the treatment and release of PDP leader Abdul Nasir Maudany from jail, as there were limitations in intervening in matters under the jurisdiction of another State Government. He had held discussions in this regard with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa a year ago. But Tamil Nadu maintained that his treatment could be given within the jail, he said

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