HC strikes down GO, orders last year's admission system

Chennai, July 12 (UNI) The self-financing professional colleges in Tamil Nadu heaved a sigh of relief as the Madras High Court today allowed last year's admission system of ''voluntary agreement for seat sharing'' to be continued for this academic year also.

Passing orders on a batch of writ appeals filed by the consortium of self-financing colleges, the Bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Mr Justice P Jyothimani, struck down the Government Order (GO), asking unaided private colleges to surrender 65 per cent of the seats (non-minority) and 50 per cent seats (minority).

However, the Bench said the G O would come into effect from the next academic year.

Holding that the admission process had already commenced, the bench said, for this year there could be a consensus arrangement between the consortium and the government under which the unaided private colleges could voluntarily surrender seats to the government to be filled under single window system.

However, the committee constituted by the government should monitor the admission process and ensure that there was transparency and merit in admissions, the bench said.

The committee should also monitor the fee collected by these colleges, the bench said and set aside the single judge's order, upholding the validity of the G O.

The government order stipulated that the self financing colleges, besides surrendering 65 per cent and 50 per cent of the seats to the government, fill up the management quota through centralised counselling system.

UNI