BANGALORE: In a reversal of its day-old decision, the Government on Wednesday decided to act on its commitment to provide fee subsidy to students admitted by the Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell to seats under the higher fee category in medical, dental and engineering courses for 2006-07.

The State Cabinet, which met on Wednesday, decided to implement the promise made in both Houses of the State legislature on fee subsidy.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said the Government had dropped its proposal to subsidise the fee for students under the higher fee category, as it would burden the State exchequer.

The same stand was taken by Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who holds the Finance portfolio, on Wednesday morning. The Cabinet has obviously gone by criticism about the move and views within the Cabinet itself.

Addressing presspersons after the meeting, Minister for Medical Education V.S. Acharya and Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Basavaraj S. Horatti said the fee subsidy would cost the exchequer Rs. 24 crore a year. The Government would provide a subsidy of Rs. 90,000 for a higher fee category medical seat, Rs. 80,000 for a dental seat and Rs. 25,000 for an engineering seat this year. .

Under the higher fee category, the Government has fixed Rs. 2, 97,500 for medicine, Rs. 2,37,500 for dental and Rs. 88,090 for engineering courses.

Dr. Acharya said the Supreme Court had upheld a petition filed before it on the compromise formula the Government had reached with the private professional college managements with regard to the fee structure this year.

A different fee structure would be evolved for medical, dental and engineering seats next year. The Government would hold talks on fee structure and seat sharing with the managements in September and a new formula would be evolved, he said.

The Cabinet decided to distribute bicycles to girls from families living below the poverty line (BPL) who have passed the seventh standard and are enrolled in the eighth standard, from August 18, as announced in the budget. Mr. Horatti said Ministers in charge of the various districts would inaugurate bicycle distribution programme on August 18. Later, the Deputy Commissioners would distribute them to the girls.

As many as 1,16,875 girls in 38,694 government high schools and 58,683 in 24,292 private aided schools would receive bicycles before the end of the month.

The scheme would cost the Government Rs. 35.63 crore. All bicycles would have the "Suvarna Karnataka" symbol etched on them, he said.

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