THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Cooperative Academy of Professional Education (CAPE) under the Department of Cooperation has decided to start a slew of new professional colleges in the State.

Cooperation Minister G. Sudhakaran told a news conference here on Thursday that it had been decided to start a new dental college, a pharmacy college and a nursing college besides a biotechnology institute under the Kochi Cooperative Medical College, an engineering college at Punnapra in Alappuzha with a business school and a finishing school attached to it, two engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram and another in Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district and a business school in Wayanad, all in the cooperative sector.

The Kochi Cooperative Medical College has already written to the State Government for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the new institutions to be set up in Kochi.

Land on lease

The land where the scooter factory used to function would be taken on lease from the Industries Department for starting the engineering college. A decision to take the land on lease was taken at the joint meeting of Industries and Cooperative Ministers attended by senior officials of the two departments. Mr. Sudhakaran said work on setting up a business school in Wayanad is on under the leadership of Krishna Prasad, MLA, and that for starting the engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram is on under the initiative of the Peroorkada Service Cooperative Bank and the Thiruvananthapuram District Cooperative Bank. Besides the engineering college, Aranmula would get a cooperative institute that runs HDC course. The State Cooperative Union has already begun work on a cooperative management institute close to the Neyyar Dam at an estimated outlay of Rs. 10 crore, he added.

The Minister said a cooperative society has been registered with Alappuzha as its headquarters for providing loans at 4 per cent interest to poor families to conduct the marriage of daughters. The Kerala State Mangalyasutra Cooperative Society is the first of its kind in India. Work on a State-level cooperative of non-resident Keralites is also on under the leadership of Manjalamkuzhi Ali, MLA, and another cooperative involving directors, technicians and others connected with the film industry has also begun functioning. Cooperative hospitals would be set up at Karunagappally and Ambalappuzha. He said CAPE would approach the P.A. Mohammed Committee for a small increase in the fee charged from students studying in the medical colleges and the engineering colleges

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