The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Uncertainty over counselling process

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Thursday, Jul 24, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Uncertainty over counselling process

G. Mahadevan

State government to go in appeal against High Court verdict

Government to speed up hearing in apex court
Last year’s agreement tripped on the same issue

Thiruvananthapuram: The Single Bench verdict of the High Court on the seat-fee agreement signed between the State government and self-financing medical colleges has cast a shadow of uncertainty over the ongoing process of allotment to medical colleges. The process, however, is in no immediate danger of being stalled or cancelled.

The essence of the verdict is that students being admitted to 35 per cent of the management seats in self-financing medical colleges should only be asked to pay the fee fixed by the P.A. Mohammed Fee Regulatory Committee (up to Rs.2.5 lakh) and not the Rs.5 lakh fee and Rs.5.5 lakh deposit as mandated in the seat-fee agreement.

The verdict is problematic to the government to the extent that it is the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE) who has allotted seats to the management quota in two self-financing medical colleges under the government — one at Kochi and the other at Kannur. The last date for paying the fee and deposit is 3.30 p.m. on July 24. In the light of the verdict on Wednesday, what is the fee to be paid by a student who has received allotment to these colleges? Should it be Rs.5 lakh as mandated in the agreement or should it be the amount specified by the Mohammed committee? What if there are demands from students that they be allowed to re-submit options now that the court has ‘lowered’ the fee in the management quota?

Last year the government-management agreement had tripped on this very issue — the element of cross-subsidy. Wednesday’s verdict is also proof enough that the agreement with managements of engineering colleges too can be challenged on similar grounds by any one. The government has taken both agreements to the Supreme Court.

If the Supreme Court does not give its nod to these agreements, all admissions to seats in self-financing colleges would be according to the fee fixed by the P.A. Mohammed panel. In fact, the government orders authorising the CEE to go ahead with the Centralised Allotment Process already contain such a clause, that if any competent authority declares the seat-fee pacts null and void, the managements would have the right to charge the fee prescribed by the Mohammed committee. The government has also decided to go in appeal against Wednesday’s High Court verdict.

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