Southern States - Karnataka   

New seat allotment formula for colleges

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE APRIL 22. The Karnataka Cabinet, on Tuesday, announced a seat allotment formula and fee structure for medical, dental and engineering courses as opposed to those brought out by the managements of private professional colleges.

After the meeting, the Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, D.B. Chandre Gowda, the Minister for Health and Information, Kagodu Thimmappa, and the Minister for Higher Education, G. Parameshwar, said the recommendations of the Cabinet Subcommittee on the issue had been taken into account for drafting the formula.

It had been decided to retain 75 per cent of the seats under the Government's purview, leaving the rest to the management. The latter's claim for 75 per cent of the seats had been rejected.

The Government retained the existing fee for seats under its quota, but substantially enhanced it for students from outside the State. It was also decided to continue the CET.

Mr. Gowda said the Government would soon issue an order under the Prohibition of Capitation Fee Act 1997 to give effect to the formula and fee structure.

Under the formula, 50 per cent of the seats are to be filled by the Government on merit-cum-reservation basis in unaided medical, dental and engineering colleges, 15 per cent on merit and payment basis with candidates from the State, and 10 per cent on merit and payment basis with candidates from outside the State. The managements could fill the remaining 25 per cent of the seats.

In the case of unaided colleges of Indian systems of medicine, the Government maintained the existing status (30 per cent Government seats and 70 per cent management seats). In aided engineering colleges, 95 per cent of the seats were to be filled up by the Government on merit-cum-reservation basis. The remaining five per cent were management seats.

In aided Indian systems of medicine colleges, including those teaching homeopathy, 80 per cent of the seats were to be filled up by the Government and the rest by the managements.

Fee structure

With regard to free medical and engineering seats, the Cabinet decided to retain the existing fee structure for Government and aided medical, dental and engineering colleges.

In the case of payment medical seats, the existing fee has been retained for Karnataka candidates (Rs. 1.1 lakh), while it has been increased to Rs. 2.07 lakh for candidates from outside the State. For dental and engineering payment seats, the fee had been increased from Rs. 87,000 to Rs. 1,47,000, and from Rs. 47,590 to Rs. 75,590 respectively, for candidates from outside the State.

In view of the difficulty in identifying candidates from the linguistic minority communities, it had been proposed to fill up seats in linguistic minority institutions on the basis suggested in respect of unaided colleges.

The Cabinet decision was in tune with the admission guidelines notified in the official gazette by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Mr. Gowda said.

In the event of the private college managements opposing the Government Order, action would be taken in accordance with the law.

Defending the new formula, Mr. Gowda and Mr. Parameshwar said the managements had been given 25 per cent of the seats, increasing their quota by 10 per cent from the previous level. The fee had also been increased.

The private managements have announced their own formula as the talks between them and the Government failed.

The former stuck to their guns, saying that the Supreme Court order gave them a free hand in admission and fixation of fee, subject to meeting criteria such as merit and social justice.

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