Thousands of seats out of Karnataka’s hands

The Supreme Court order on the rights of minority educational institutions has left Karnataka poorer by 2,750 seats in professional courses....

The Supreme Court order on the rights of minority educational institutions has left Karnataka poorer by 2,750 seats in professional courses.

The state now stands to lose 2,000 engineering, 500 medical and 250 dental seats that it had been sponsoring to minority colleges under the free/merit seat category.

Nod for 12 colleges

BANGALORE: The Cabinet has cleared 12 more colleges, including seven in Bangalore. The colleges which will receive the ‘‘no objection’’ certificate include one dental, five nursing, three ayurveda and three pharmacy courses. It also approved a rise in intake of students in some colleges. The Cabinet gave its nod after examining a report on the matter furnished by a sub-committee headed by Home Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge and comprising Medical Education Minister M. Raddy and Health Minister Thimmappa. (ENS)

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The apex court in the same directive has also allowed unaided minority institutions to collect their own ‘‘fee’’. But this fee cannot be collected as capitation fee or in any such form through which the institution can ‘‘profit’’. However, there is no bar on colleges from imposing such a fee, which will create a ‘‘reasonable surplus’’ for the college to pay for its expansion plans.

In Karnataka, engineering colleges alone take in 28,000 students, medical colleges house 2,180 and dental colleges admit 1,500 students.

The apex court’s order will not only have an impact on the admission to engineering and medical courses, it will also affect the admission procedure to allied medical courses such as nursing, pharmacy and physiotherapy.

Of the 107 engineering colleges in the state, 10 cater to religious minority groups and five to linguistic minority. Similarly, of the 28 medical colleges, six seats are reserved for linguistic minority and four for religious minority groups, while of the 35 dental colleges, five seats are allotted to religious minority and four to linguistic minority. As these colleges don’t receive government aid, the state can have little control over their admission procedures.

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Admissions to the professional courses have already been decided by the Common Entrance Test (CET). Since the court orders have come after the CET cell’s admission process, the need to undertake the exercise of implementing the court order from this academic year itself does not arise.

But admissions to post-graduate medical courses are yet to begin. Asked about the fate of these courses, Education and Medical Education Department officials said they would stick to the present seat-distribution pattern till the state revises the rules in accordance to SC orders.

The CET cell sponsors 50 per cent seats in a minority institution for BE, MBBS and BDS courses. Of this, 25 per cent students are under free/ merit seat category and 25 per cent come from merit-payment category.

Of the remaining 50 per cent seats, the colleges would get 15 per cent under the management/NRI quota, 20 per cent under merit-payment category and 15 per cent under free/merit category.