THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy has urged the State Government to hold talks with private self-financing college managements to find an amicable settlement to the dispute over admission and fee structure in the professional colleges.

Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, Mr. Chandy said both the Government and the managements must adopt a pragmatic approach to resolve the issue in the best interests of the State and the students.

If the Government does not take a pragmatic approach, the managements would benefit from it as the Supreme Court verdict is fully in their favour.

Government flayed

The Government had wasted a year and allowed the managements to reap huge benefits by refusing to enter into a meaningful dialogue with them. The managements, he said, must realise that they cannot admit students of their choice to all the seats in their colleges and charge whatever fees they pleased.

In the past, there was no possibility of such a discussion between the managements and the Government because the Left Democratic Front, which was then in the Opposition, was opposed to any such dialogue.

The United Democratic Front does not propose to take any such stand. It would fully support any dialogue between the Government and the managements to find a solution to the issue, he said.

The Opposition leader said the ideal solution for the disputes between the Government and the managements is the 50:50 ratio worked out by the UDF Government and an understanding on the maximum fee that the managements can realise from the students. The managements must get enough revenue to create all the necessary facilities in the colleges, but this does not mean that they can charge fees as they pleased.

The Government should not also try to use the P.A. Mohammed Committee to tame the managements because the Committee has lost all credibility, he added.

Encroachments

Referring to the encroachments in Munnar, Mr. Chandy said the UDF would fully support any Government move to evict the encroachers regardless of their political affiliation.

He accused Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan of having attempted to trivialise and politicise the issue by trying to fix the entire blame for the encroachments on the UDF. The Chief Minister, he noted, had not tried to do so and had stated that there were persons owing to both the alliances among the encroachers.

What is called for is not controversy, but stern measures to rid Munnar of encroachers and illegal constructions. The UDF would fully support any action by the Government to achieve this, he said.

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