Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Decision to grant autonomy for 15 colleges soon, says Minister

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government will soon take a decision on the proposal of the Collegiate Education Director to grant autonomy to five Government and 10 aided colleges, Education Minister M.A. Baby has said.

Replying to questions in the Assembly on Friday, Mr. Baby said the Higher Education Council was examining the issue of granting autonomy to University College, Government Women’s College, Maharaja’s College, Government Victoria College and Government Brennan College and 10 aided colleges. The Government was holding talks with the Central Government to open a centre of Aligarh Muslim University and one of the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. There was no proposal to start new Government or aided colleges. New courses would be started only on the advice of the Higher Education Council.

The Government was not against autonomous educational institutions, but it should be under strict social control. Steps on granting deemed university status to various institutions, including Kerala Kalamandalam and the Regional Cancer Centre, were progressing. The curriculum committee was examining the proposal to start adolescent education from the next academic year. As many as 1,628 school students had availed themselves of the accident insurance scheme in 2006-07, he said.

Cooperation Minister G. Sudhakaran said that the Cooperative Academy for Professional Education (CAPE) would set up an engineering college and finishing school in Alappuzha. The Kerala Institute of Cooperative Management to be set up by the State Cooperative Union in Neyyar Dam would offer MBA and MCA courses.

Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran said the Government would amend the rules for sand-mining, if needed. Computerisation of land documents would be completed soon. The Government would frame legislation for the coordinated development of Munnar, he said.

Local Administration Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty said the Government had got Rs. 198.69 crore from the Union Rural Development Ministry for various projects in 2006-07 and 70 per cent of the fund had been utilised.

The Government will examine the proposal to set up oncology units in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode Medical Colleges and a regional unit of the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thrissur, Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy has said.

Replying to questions in the Assembly on Thursday, Ms.Sreemathy said that more facilities will be provided at the cancer centre in Kodiyeri. A tele-cobalt unit for radiation therapy costing Rs.75 lakh will be installed at Kottayam Medical College soon. While the number of patients in RCC was 3,696 in 1982, it went up to 10,909 in 2006.

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