Minority panel wades into Plus Two batches’ row in Kerala

Stopping short of issuing a full-blown warning, Mr. Veerankutty said love and care for the minorities should not end up merely as lip service.

August 21, 2014 11:42 am | Updated 11:42 am IST - KOTTAYAM:

A new front has opened in the war over the new higher secondary batches with the State Commission for Minorities demanding that the government expedite steps to ensure more higher secondary seats in the Malabar region so that candidates from minority communities can continue their studies without hindrance.

Addressing presspersons here after the commission’s sitting on Wednesday, chairman M. Veerankutty said it had come to the notice of the commission that even meritorious students in the region could not find seats to continue their studies in the existing situation.

Stopping short of issuing a full-blown warning, Mr. Veerankutty said love and care for the minorities should not end up merely as lip service. “We at the commission are not bothered about the controversies over the sanctioning of the higher secondary batches. Whether the batches were sanctioned in compliance with the recommendations of the Higher Secondary Director, or whether underserved elements were benefited during the sanctioning process do not come under our purview,” he said.

“Whatever be the case, we urge the government to take urgent steps to ensure a conducive condition for the higher secondary candidates from minority communities in Kannur, Kozhikode, and Malappuram districts to pursue their studies,” Mr. Veerankutty said. If there were any major obstacles, alternatives should be explored, he said.

Backs Chandy

In what appeared to be an explicitly political statement, Mr. Veerankutty said the commission had full faith in Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who had promised that his government would take steps to ensure admission to higher secondary classes for all deserving candidates.

He said the pending remuneration for the 1,000-odd Minority Welfare Promoters would be disbursed before Onam. The promoters were appointed nearly a year ago to ensure that various Centrally sponsored schemes aimed at minority welfare were effectively utilised. “We have discussed the matter with the Chief Minister and the Minister concerned,” he said.

Mr. Veerankutty said the commission would also take up the issue of the Finance Department’s move to deny sanction for the creation of 30 supernumerary posts of staff nurses under the No Candidates Available (NCA) category in Thiruvananthapuram district. He said the commission had entrusted V.V. Joshy, member of the commission, to look into the issues concerning the backward sections among the Christian community.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.