<p>A public interest litigation has been filed in the High Court, challenging certain provisions of the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) Act, 2006.</p>.<p>The petition said some of the provisions of the Act violated Article 14 of the Constitution and the state government was acting contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court.</p>.<p>A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka ordered notice to the government on the PIL filed by city-based advocate Ajoy Kumar Patil.</p>.<p>According to the petitioner, the system of admission and fixation of fee by the government and Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) in respect of private professional colleges was non-transparent.</p>.<p>The petitioner said that in the Inamdar case, the Supreme Court had explicitly held that except the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota seats, which cannot exceed 15%, all other seats must be filled up on the basis of merit by giving equal opportunity to all eligible students and on the basis of a reasonable fee structure accessible to all.</p>.<p>However, the earmarking of 20% of seats was contrary to the judgments of the apex court. The petition said at best only 15% of the seats can be filled up by NRIs and even in respect of that, the principle of merit cannot be given a complete go-by.</p>.<p>The 5% management quota seats fixed by the state government and the KEA, over and above the 15% NRI seats, was illegal and arbitrary, the petition contended.</p>.<p>“The vast majority of meritorious but economically weaker students cannot even think of paying such exorbitant seats and the said seats have been made inaccessible to them and thereby, they are being discriminated against in the matter of admissions to professional educational institutions,” the petition said.</p>.<p>It said the government, under the dictates of the private professional educational institutions, had entered into agreements with the Karnataka Professional Colleges Foundation, the Karnataka Religious and Linguistic Minority Professional Colleges Association and the Association of Minority Professional Colleges in Karnataka, completely bypassing and ignoring the provisions of the Act. </p>
<p>A public interest litigation has been filed in the High Court, challenging certain provisions of the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) Act, 2006.</p>.<p>The petition said some of the provisions of the Act violated Article 14 of the Constitution and the state government was acting contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court.</p>.<p>A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka ordered notice to the government on the PIL filed by city-based advocate Ajoy Kumar Patil.</p>.<p>According to the petitioner, the system of admission and fixation of fee by the government and Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) in respect of private professional colleges was non-transparent.</p>.<p>The petitioner said that in the Inamdar case, the Supreme Court had explicitly held that except the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota seats, which cannot exceed 15%, all other seats must be filled up on the basis of merit by giving equal opportunity to all eligible students and on the basis of a reasonable fee structure accessible to all.</p>.<p>However, the earmarking of 20% of seats was contrary to the judgments of the apex court. The petition said at best only 15% of the seats can be filled up by NRIs and even in respect of that, the principle of merit cannot be given a complete go-by.</p>.<p>The 5% management quota seats fixed by the state government and the KEA, over and above the 15% NRI seats, was illegal and arbitrary, the petition contended.</p>.<p>“The vast majority of meritorious but economically weaker students cannot even think of paying such exorbitant seats and the said seats have been made inaccessible to them and thereby, they are being discriminated against in the matter of admissions to professional educational institutions,” the petition said.</p>.<p>It said the government, under the dictates of the private professional educational institutions, had entered into agreements with the Karnataka Professional Colleges Foundation, the Karnataka Religious and Linguistic Minority Professional Colleges Association and the Association of Minority Professional Colleges in Karnataka, completely bypassing and ignoring the provisions of the Act. </p>
