The State has witnessed an increase in the number of private colleges in the past five years.
Around 70% of institutions granted no-objection certificates (NOC) during the period comes under the self-financing sector.
The Save University Campaign Committee has accused the government of commercialising the higher education sector.
Around 75%
Information gathered by the organisation under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has proved that nearly three-fourths (75.57%) of the colleges affiliated to six universities — Kerala, Calicut, Kannur and Mahatma Gandhi Universities; Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT); and APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) — belonged to the self-financing sector. These included 829 out of the 1,097 colleges affiliated to these universities.
According to forum secretary M. Shajar Khan, the government provided NOCs to 49 colleges between 2016 and September 2021. Among these, 34 are self-financing colleges and the rest government and aided ones.
Over 93% of the colleges affiliated to the KTU are self-financing colleges. There are no State-run professional colleges affiliated to Calicut University in Malappuram and Wayanad districts. All except one of the 25 colleges in Thrissur are in the private sector. In Kozhikode, 21 out of the 25 colleges are self-financing, official documents revealed.
Fee burden
Accusing the government of neglecting the need to enhance the State’s role in higher education, the forum alleged that the rise in the number of private colleges had degraded academic standards in the State. Several students had been unable to enrol in private colleges owing to high fees, the forum claimed.
