SC order on CET in Kerala puts students in fix

Thiruvananthapuram, May 13: With the Supreme Court allowing self-financing professional colleges to conduct their own entrance exams amid the ongoing tussle between the Kerala Government and the managements, the students who had already taken the Common Entrance Test (CET) are in a fix, lacking the means to pay capitation and huge fee.

The court verdict has also raised the question of social justice in professional education with the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) emphasising on upholding social justice while college managements asserting social justice was the responsibility of the government.

Stating the government would go by the court verdict, Education Minister M A Baby said it would continue to explore ways to ensure social justice in the operation of private self-financing colleges.

In its order this week, the Supreme Court had allowed a consortium of private medical and engineering colleges in the state to conduct a separate CET.

The Court granted the permission while admitting a petition by the Kerala Government challenging an order of the High Court, which struck down some provisions of the Kerala Professional Colleges (Prohibition of Capitation Fees) Act 2006 as ''unconstitutional.'' Mr Baby said the government would go in for legislation to ensure seats for SC/ST and Backward Community students in such institutions.

He also said though the managements had won the right to admissions, the P A Muhammed Committee appointed by the state government to fix fee and oversee the admission process had the right to examine the CET held by these colleges as per an earlier order of the High Court.

This could in a way help to maintain transparency in admission procedures. Mr Baby alleged the self-financing college management had ''cheated'' the Kerala society by violating their promise of admitting 50 per cent students from the government quota by charging state-prescribed fees.

However, Opposition Leader in the Kerala Assembly Oommen Chandy had said the recent verdict giving full freedom to the management in admission and fee structure could not be accepted.

Stating the UDF was for social justice and social control on self-financing professional educational institutions, he also said these institutions should be allowed to raise resources without profit motive. Blaming the LDF for the current impasse, he, however, favoured an out-of-court settlement of the issue with the government initiating talks with private managements to find a solution acceptable to all.

Contradicting the leaders' arguments on upholding social justice in professional education, Private Engineering Colleges Association President G P C Nair told UNI that social justice did not prevail even before the court verdict.

''There are 8,600 seats in the government engineering colleges in the state. And 85 per cent of the students studying in these colleges are those whose annual family income is more than Rs six lakh. This only shows only the wealthy have got admissions in the past also,'' he claimed.

These students could get enter the colleges only because they got good coaching for the tests. The poor students who could not afford to pay the hefty coaching fees were again left out, he said.

Moreover, these rich students were studying with the tax payers' money, Mr Nair said. ''if the government is really thinking of social justice, let them first allot all these 8,600 seats to the poor,'' mr nair said.

Clarifying that separate entrance test would not be conducted, Mr Nair said the admissions would be from the list of the cet conducted by the controller of entrance examinations (CEE).

The rank obtained in the entrance did not matter as the marks obtained in the entrance along with those of Plus Two examinations would be added to finalise the list, he said.

This methodology would ensure social justice as poor students could also find a place in the list.

Stating the fees would be between Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000, he said it was necessary to run the institution.

''The fees we levy is not that high as one can see that the government has spent about Rs 74,000 for a student in the government engineering college in 2003.

The government can run its institutions with the tax payers' money and without burdening the parents. But no one gives money to run the self-financing institutes,'' he said and added no capitation fees would be levied and if any institution was found realising it, they would be removed from the association.

On reservation, Mr Nair said it would be according to the prevailing situation.>