The Hindu : Front Page : Proposal for scholarship scheme for merit seats

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 09, 2006

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Front Page

Proposal for scholarship scheme for merit seats

Staff Reporter

Cabinet sub-committee to study recommendations of Mohammed panel

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government proposes to offer scholarship loans to students from the economically backward sections who have gained admission to Government seats in private self-financing professional colleges, Education Minister M. A. Baby said.

He said this scheme would be implemented if the ongoing talks between the Government and the managements of private self-financing professional colleges on admissions and fee structure failed to reach a consensus. In that case, the Supreme Court verdict on the self-financing professional colleges issue would be implemented, Mr. Baby said.

The Minister said the Cabinet meeting on Friday decided that the sub-committee dealing with the self-financing colleges issue would study the recommendations of the P. A. Mohammed committee and recommend a course of action to the Government. This would be done in a time-bound manner. He said the Government was duty-bound to take action on the committee's recommendations. The nature of action would depend on the outcome of further talks with the managements.

The Education Minister said a final decision on the fee for Government seats in private self-financing colleges would be declared before students began re-submiting their course/college options online on September 11. The Government would reach an agreement with the managements of self-financing professional colleges under its control so that admissions were made in accordance with the provisions of the self-financing colleges Act, 2006.

Mr. Baby said the Government did not believe that the efforts to arrive at a consensus had reached a deadlock. The consortium of managements of self-financing medical colleges had not formally told the Government that it was pulling out of the talks. The Government was still open to talks with the managements, Mr. Baby said.

In reply to a question, the Minister said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government had not recommended to the Government to scrap Section 8 of the 2006 Act relating to minority institutions. He said the Government was not obstinate about retaining or removing these clauses, but this would be done only after talks.

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