This demand from the Left will require careful tight-rope walk by HRD Minister Arjun Singh. The Students’ Federation India, the CPM’s student wing, is adamant that the Centre and states have a tighter control on fees and admission in private engineering and medical colleges.If Singh gives in to this demand, he will please a constituency in Left-dominated Kerala and West Bengal, but will alienate fellow Congressmen in Maharashtra, several of whom run these institutions.This afternoon, the SFI held a protest rally in the Capital on the issue. Two days ago, two SFI office bearers, president K.K. Ragesh and secretary Kallol Roy met Singh and told him that they wanted private institutions to make profits only out of finances involved with 25 per cent of the seats. For the remaining seats, the states should ensure a transparent admission test. Singh assured the student leaders to look into their demand. He promised that the issue would be taken up at the meeting of state higher education ministers, scheduled for January. This is not the first time the SFI has exerted pressure on the ministry on the issue. It had agitated in the past when two women in Kerala had committed suicide because they could not pay their fees.Asked if this demand was quite like what former HRD Minister M.M. Joshi had been harping on, Roy explained that Joshi was more interested in tightening screws on IIMs.For Singh, the problem lies elsewhere. Private colleges have the strong backing of Maharashtra politicians especially those of the Congress.
