Kerala for including SFP Colleges Act in the 9th Schedule

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 5 (UNI) The Kerala Government today decided to appeal to the Centre to include Self-Financing Professional Colleges Act in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to avoid it being challenged in a court.

This was stated by state Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan after a Cabinet meeting.

The Kerala Professional Colleges (Prohibition of Capitation Fee, Regulation of Admission, Fixation of Non-Exploitative Fee and Other Measures to Ensure Equity and Excellence in Professional Education) Act had become a bone of contention between the Government and the managements of the self-financing colleges.

Soon after Governor R L Bhatia gave his assent to the Bill on July 2, managements of the self-financing colleges had threatened to close down their colleges if their interests were not protected and also to challenge it in court.

However, the Government was determined to take stern action against the managements which violated the Act and said ''it knew how to deal with the threat of the managements.'' The schedule for the admissions would be announced later in the day and the Left Democratic Front Government had given the managements three days time for coming in terms with the new Act.

The Act provides for reservation to social, educationally backward classes and economically weaker sections of society besides physically challenged persons. The total reservation for these categories is 50 per cent. Fee concessions and freeships are available to 50 per cent of the students. The managements will have a quota of 30 per cent consisting of privilege seats and NRI seats (15 per cent each).

The Cabinet also decided to inquire into the missing of rectified spirit brought to the Mannam Sugar Mills from other states in 1992-93.

Though the spirit was dispatched from the destinations, it did not reach the Mill, Mr Achutanandan said. It was also decided to waive the excise duty amounting to Rs 70 lakh for the Mannam Sugar Mills in this regard, he said and added there was no need for levying excise duty on the lost spirit.

The Cabinet decided to appoint advocate Dinesh as standing Counsel of the Government in the Supreme Court.

UNI PN PA HT1635