8 linguistic minority colleges face action for violating norms

Medical Education Minister Dr Sharanprakash Patil on Monday said that his department would initiate action against eight linguistic minority medical colleges in the State for violating a number of rules.

Patil told the Legislative Council that it had come to his notice that certain linguistic minority colleges were not fulfilling the conditions laid down by the State in enrolling students, thereby violating their minority recognition status.

“It has come to my notice that as per the Venkataramaiah report, eight linguistic minority colleges in the State have violated norms laid down before giving them the minority status. We are going to initiate action against them,” he said. In total, there are 13 minority colleges in the State, including five religious minority colleges.

The issue was raised by JD(S) MLCs Basavaraj Horatti and M C Nanaiah, BJP MLC Y A Narayanaswamy, with regard to the Sapthagiri medical college, which has got recognition as a Kodava language minority college. According to the Opposition MLCs, the college has only one Kodava community member and the rest are members speaking other languages.

Patil said three members of the five-member management committee had got certificates from the concerned tahsildar as belonging to the ‘Kodava Gowda’ community.

Questioning the certificate issued by the tahsildar, Nanaiah - who is from the Kodava community - said that he had never heard of such a community. He appealed to the minister to initiate action even against the tahsildar.

SC/ST students

On the engineering colleges front, Minister for Higher Education R V Desphande, said that the government was clearing the backlog of Rs 30 crore which has to be paid to professional colleges as part of the various schemes under which SC/ST students have been admitted.

“We will clear the backlog of Rs 30 crore and also inquire into cases of colleges which have allegedly collected fees from the SC/ST students, despite directives not to collect fees from them,” he said.

The government on Monday said that it was forced to bring before the legislature the consensual agreement Bill for 2013, for approval, keeping the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) Act, 2006, in abeyance.

The Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) (Special Provisions) Bill, 2013, gives ‘recognition’ to the consensual agreement or arrangement proposed to be entered into between the State government and private unaided educational institutions imparting professional courses.

Admitting that the consensual agreement was not in the best interest of the State and the students, hinting at an advantage for the private professional colleges offering medical, dental and engineering courses, Patil said: “I am not for the agreement, but I do not have a choice. The previous regimes have entered into agreements, time and again, with the private managements and it shall continue. There is no time, this year, to implement the 2006 Act.”