Revolutionary Youth Front (RYF) State secretary Saleem P. Chacko has accused medical college managements under the Inter-Church Council (ICC) of challenging Kerala society by opposing the government fee structure for students admitted to the MBBS course in the 50 per cent government merit quota.
He was inaugurating a march taken out by RYF workers to Pushpagiri Medical College (PMC) in Thiruvalla on Friday in protest against the policy adopted by the Inter-Church Council as well as the college management. The RYF leader decried the reported decision by the Inter-Church Council to go in appeal against the High Court ruling favouring the Government Order cancelling the admission made to 50 per cent government seats for postgraduate medical courses by the four self-financing medical college managements under the Kerala Christian Professional College Management Federation and directing the Director of Medical Education to conduct fresh allotment to these seats.
Mr. Chacko said there was every reason to suspect an unholy nexus between the management of the Cooperative Medical College at Pariyaram and the medical college managements under the Inter- Church Council.
He condemned the statement made by the Pushpagiri Samrakshana Samiti (PSS) threatening youth and student organisations that raised protest against the alleged anti-student education policies of the medical college management. Mr. Chacko said the PSS leaders were issuing such statements from “a fool's paradise.'' He said the student agitation would continue till the problems in the State's professional education sector were resolved.
The RYF march that began from the Kacherippadi on the Thiruvalla-Mavelikara Road was blocked by the police near the PMC main gate. The police prevented attempts made by a section of the protesters to break the barricade.
S. Satheesh, RYF district president; Anil Murickanattil, secretary; Premjith Sarma, treasurer; Kovoor Mohaan, State secretariat member; and P.G. Prasannakumar, RSP Thiruvalla mandalam committee member; spoke.
The protesters staged a sit-in on the road.
