The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Minister cautions managements

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Tuesday, May 08, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Minister cautions managements

Special Correspondent

`Admissions will be subject to scrutiny by the P. A. Mohammed Committee' `Admissions will be subject to scrutiny by the P. A. Mohammed Committee'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for Education M.A. Baby has cautioned private self-financing professional college managements against misusing the freedom in admissions that they have got by virtue of the Supreme Court order on Monday and reminded them that all the admissions they give would be subject to scrutiny by the P. A. Mohammed Committee.

"The private self-financing professional college managements must remember that Kerala society will be closely observing how they utilise the freedom they have got in the matter of admissions thanks to the Supreme Court decision," Mr. Baby told a news conference here on Monday.

He said the Government would abide by the Supreme Court decision, but would continue to explore ways to ensure social justice in the running of the private self-financing colleges. The Government would go in for legislation to ensure seats for SC/ST and backward community students in such institutions, he added.

Minister's clarification

The Minister clarified that the Government had approached the Supreme Court only for "interim relief" pertaining to admissions this year and not for a review of the Kerala High Court decision quashing some important provisions of the Kerala professional colleges Act. All that it had argued before the Supreme Court was that the High Court verdict relating to the Act should not stand in the way of admissions being given on the basis of the Act. The Supreme Court had upheld the High Court verdict, thereby giving the private managements complete freedom in selecting students to all the seats at their disposal. But the powers of the P.A. Mohammed Committee to scrutinise all such admissions still stood and the Government was hopeful that the committee would utilise its powers to scrutinise the admissions.

The last comprehensive verdict of the Supreme Court in matters relating to admissions in professional colleges was in the Inamdar Case. In its judgment in the case, the Supreme Court had given the State Governments the power "to step in and take over" the process of admissions if the examinations and subsequent admission procedures followed by the consortium of private self-financing college managements were found to be fraudulent. In Kerala, the entrance examinations conducted by the managements had been proved to be full of irregularities. Therefore, the P.A. Mohammed Committee would have to look closely into the admission procedures that they followed this year, Mr. Baby said.

Ready for talks

The Education Minister said the Government would be ready to hold talks with the managements if they were ready for a serious dialogue, but the statements being issued on behalf of the managements were contradictory in nature and could not, therefore, be the basis for a meaningful dialogue. According to him, the managements have got only a "technical upper-hand" with the Supreme Court decision. He said the managements would not have the moral strength to confront Kerala society given their determination to reap profits by running the self-financing colleges.

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