Colleges decide, government pays

Bangalore: A year ago, when the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the state government will implement the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) Act, 2006 from this academic year, it hoped to put an end to seat blocking, donations and other corrupt practices.

But, now, there is opposition to this decision. Union Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily, who is consideredthe architect of the CET or Common Entrance Test system in the state has also been critical. He is against scrapping government quota seats in private unaided colleges, saying it is against the interests of poor students.

Under the earlier system, there was a government quota in private unaided colleges, but under the new system there is no government control over private colleges. Moily believes this is against the concept of social justice in higher education. The CET system was introduced to ensure social justice for all in the higher education sector. "By implementing the 2006 Act, the government has ruined the system," he lamented.

Experts say the issue is more complex than that. A retired officer from the ministry of human resource development says the state government has very limited options other than to implement the Act.

"The state government is bound by the Supreme Court judgment of 2002 in the Manipal University case. Many officials and academicians had suggested that the central government enact a new law to nullify the effect of the Supreme Court judgment. But successive governments didn't act.

The state government enacted the 2006 Act based on the SC judgment which speaks about uniform fee structure for all students, eradication of management quota seats etc. But as COMEDK and the state government were reaching a consensual agreement on seat matrix and fee structure every year, this Act was kept in abeyance till this year," he explained.

State education department officials say the Act has several plus points. The main one is that it abolishes management quota seats. An academician involved with a private college says what hurt students’ interest in the state CET structure was seat blocking, where merit seats were converted into management quota seats and sold for large amounts at a later stage.

"The Act makes it clear that all seats should be filled up based on merit and reservation. There will be no high fee category, management quota etc. All those who want to pursue professional courses must come through the merit list," says the academician.

He said that converting the COMEDK all-India merit seats into management quota seats was one of the biggest rackets in the country. “Even the hundreds of government quota seats in private colleges were converted into management quota by showing they are dropouts. All these malpractices will end once this Act comes into force," he added.

But the main issue now is the double admission test and no government quota seats in private colleges. “If they fix Rs 2 lakh for an MBBS seat in a college, is it possible for a poor student having cent percentile marks in physics, chemistry and biology subjects to join the course? Whatever the arguments, non-availability of government quota seats in private colleges is a big curse for the students," said Abhijith Bhat, who is waiting for a medical seat.

Next: Act goes against interests of poor students, say parents

Act goes against interests of poor students, say parents

Students, parents and experts feel that even though the state government's decision to implement the 2006 Act will solve several problems associated with professional colleges, it is against the interest of merit students who can't afford the high fees.
Rakesh L. is a second year PUC student. He says the main problem with the new rule is that quality engineering seats under the government quota are not available.

"All major colleges are owned by COMEDK affiliated institutions. Except for BMS engineering colleges, CET students are left with no options. To ensure justice to merit students, the government must opt for consensual agreement like in previous years and the Act does not help students in any way," he said.

The controversial issue is multiple admission tests. Students want the government to hold talks with COMEDK over scrapping COMEDK UGET and distributing all the seats based on the CET merit list. "KEA has all the facilities and systems to hold the admission test for lakhs of students at a time. If private colleges really have concerns about the state students, why can't they accept the merit list prepared by the KEA?" asks Nagarathma, a housewife whose daughter is preparing for CET 2014.

When contacted, an officer from the state higher education department said public pressure could force COMEDK to fall in line and the government is not in a position to bargain. "The CID is still investigating alleged malpractices in COMEDK UGET 2013 after the arrest of some students from North India at the BIAL. In the interests of students from the state, COMEDK should consider the demand on humanitarian grounds," he added.