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The Kerala government is not likely to grant 'unfettered freedom' to unaided minority professional colleges on the basis of the Supreme Court's order on the issue.
The high-powered committee of the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front that is meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday will insist on the social conditions that the government had imposed on them while sanctioning the colleges.
These colleges were opened to allow the private sector into professional education.
The state Cabinet discussed the issue on the basis of a Cabinet subcommittee report and legal opinions received from various quarters on Wednesday. It is of the opinion that the apex court judgment has left enough scope for the government to intervene in matters of admission.
Leaving the matter to the top policy-making body of the UDF, since the minority education lobby is politically powerful, the Cabinet subcommittee headed by Law Minister K M Mani suggested that college managements could retain at least 50 per cent of the merit seats.
Prior to the Supreme Court verdict, the government had also set apart 15 per cent seats for various communities, including non-resident Indians.
The government stand is bound to lead to conflicts and may even prompt another round of legal battle, say academic experts. Discarding the government guidelines, several minority-run professional colleges went ahead with admissions on the basis of their own criteria and fee structure.
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College at Kolencherry in Ernakulam district has invited applications directly from the candidates for admission to the first year MBBS course. Meanwhile, the Association of Kerala Self-financing Colleges has constituted a committee to recommend the admission pattern and fee structure after the Supreme Court verdict.
The committee has also been asked to study the possibility of conducting separate entrance examinations. The state has 38 unaided self-financing engineering colleges with around 7,000 seats. Besides, more than a dozen new colleges are likely to open next year.
Students seeking admission to professional colleges this year are worried about the delay. Owing to the delay, they will be at a disadvantage compared to those who have already secured admissions in the existing colleges.
The managements of the new colleges are also worried about the delay, as it will deprive them of the mandatory 240 working days. The Cabinet can take a decision on the matter only if the UDF's committee settles the dispute on Friday.
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