MES submits proposal to break deadlock in SFE sector

Updated on: Thursday, June 30, 2011

With the objective of solving the present impasse in the Self-Financing Educational sector in the state, Muslim Educational Society (MES), an organisation that represents professional colleges run by Muslims in the state, has submitted a proposal before the United Democratic Front (UDF) Government in Kerala, the body said.
 
"All the 50 per cent seats we propose to surrender to the Government should be reserved exclusively for admission of students based on Merit-cum-Means policy," MES State President Dr P A Fazal Ghafoor told reporters here.
 
"To fill these seats, those falling under the BPL category and those coming below the Creamy layer income alone should be considered," he said, adding that by adopting this formula, social, community  and economical justice could be implemented in the admission.
 
For the last few days, Pro-Left student and youth outfits in the state have been on a protest mode accusing the UDF government of having failed to rein in the managements of self-financing colleges which had declined to follow the policy of filling half the seats in their institutions from the state quota.
 
Ghafoor said under the Tripartite mode of admission, out of the 50 per cent seats set apart to the Government for allotment, 30 per cent (15 seats) of seats should be earmarked for General Merit candidates, another 10 per cent of seats (5 seats) to the SC/ST category of students, 20 per cent (10 seats) seats to OBC category and 40 percent (20 seats) for the members belonging to the community that runs the professional colleges.

In the formula of 50:50 presently followed, the students belonging to the Minority Community are compelled to pay "huge rates of fee" for pursuing professional education, he claimed, adding, "It is to avoid this anomaly that the Supreme Court has instructed not to have crosssubsidy in professional education."
 
Out of the 50 per cent of seats that are surrendered to the Government, after deducting the community quota of 40 per cent (20 seats), the remaining seats (30 seats) could be apportioned under 50:50 basis, he said.
 
In the 50 per cent of seats (50 seats) that are exclusively earmarked to the Management, 15 seats should be identified as NRI quota and the remaining 35 seats for filling up the candidates sponsored by the management, he said.
 
For NRI seats, the tuition fee to be collected may be fixed as 9 lakh while that for management-sponsored candidates the tuition fee may be fixed as 5.5 lakh apart from furnishing a refundable deposit of Rs 5 lakh, he said.
 
They have also submitted the copies of their proposal to the Kerala Chief Minister, the Cabinet Sub-Committee, the Inter Church Council, the Leader of the Opposition and the Medical Management Association and Defence Minister, A K Antony, for perusal and consideration, he added.

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