Government will have to pronounce stand

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  The ball is now in the court of the government.It is now for the state government to take a stand on the issue of fees structure in self-financing colleges. It is now for the government to appeal against the verdict of the Single Bench of the High Court which quashed the fees structure fixed by the P A Mohammed committee.While considering the appeal of the Mohammed committee against the decision of the Single Bench, the Division Bench said it was surprising that the Mohammed Committee had chosen to challenge the decision of the Single Bench.The panel did not have any stake in the issue. It was not going to be affected either way.It was the managements, students and the state which are going to be affected, the court said. This clearly indicates it was for the state government to appeal against the Single Bench decision. It was based on the decision of the Single Bench that the managements had been pressing for uniform fees for all courses in all self-financing colleges.The High Court had allowed medical colleges under the Inter-Church Council to collect the last year’s fees of Rs 3.50 lakh in their colleges for all seats.The Kerala Self-Financing Medical College Managements’ Association had taken the stand in its discussions with the government that it was willing to reach an agreement only if the Inter-Church Council and Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences(AIMS) agreed to follow a uniform fees structure. The position of the AIMS is that the State Government could not decide on its fees structure as the college has a deemed university status.Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters here after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the government was committed to finding a permanent solution to the self-financing professional colleges issue. He said the discussions on the issue would start soon after this year’s admissions.He said that he would take the initiative for the talks.The stand of the government is that there should be reduced fees for government quota seats to uphold social justice, he said.

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