The Hindu : Kerala News : `No dialogues under shadow of threat'

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Sunday, Aug 06, 2006

Kerala

Kerala

`No dialogues under shadow of threat'

Staff Reporter

Powathil flays Government stand

KOTTAYAM: Archbishop Mar Joseph Powathil, chairman of Inter Church Council for Education, has made it clear that dialogues to resolve the impasse on the self-financing professional colleges, would come to naught, if those representing the State Government were still using the language of threat. However, he was still ready for dialogue on all issues, except minority status issue, with the authorities, he said.

Speaking at a seminar organised by Darshana Cultural Centre here on the Self-financing professional colleges' issue on Saturday, the Archbishop said people in authority were threatening that the institutions would not be allowed to function in Kerala, if they (the managements) got a favourable judgment from the Supreme Court. Against such a stance from the Government, dialogues would become meaningless, Mar Powathil said.

That the minorities deserved special protection for the very existence of democracy was an accepted dictum, and that was why such provisions were provided in the Constitution.

It was also accepted that the cultural heritage and identity of the community could be ensured only through education. The provision in the new Bill that minority status would be decided on the basis of the number of educational institutions controlled by a community goes against this principle, the Archbishop said.

The Archbishop called for a reasonable fee structure and also stressed the need to evolve mechanisms to take care of the financially backward and weaker sections.

Cyriac Thomas, former vice chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi University, said the K.T. Thomas Formula, which calls for cross subsidisation of education of the poorer sections by charging a higher fee for those securing admission through management reservation, was not feasible. Fee structure should be designed so as to help the managements to do away with capitation fee, he said.

According to him, it was imperative on the part of the Government to accept the fact that self-financing institutions were necessary in society.

It was not logical to dub all minority institutions as illegal, he said.

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