Date:13/02/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/02/13/stories/2003021303590700.htm

Southern States - Kerala

ICCE supports Pushpagiri college

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Feb. 12. The Inter-Church Council for Education (ICCE), the apex organisation of all Christian managements, has supported the stand of the Pushpagiri Medical College, Thiruvalla, on the issue of admission of students.

In a statement today, the council said that temporary adjustments had been made by only one or two colleges, taking into consideration the peculiar situation prevailing this year.

The council asked the Government not to forget that students of all communities studied in all self-financing professional colleges. In some, because of the local situation, non-Christian students outnumbered the Christians. In some others, it was the other way round. The statement claimed that it was not against the Supreme Court's judgment. It added that special schemes had been drawn up for providing free education to poor students.

The council contended that the managements were not prepared to run colleges sacrificing the rights provided by the Constitution. The Christian managements' stand on the admission of students to the self-financing professional colleges was the same. It was in tune with the rights provided by the Constitution and abided by the orders issued by courts. It wondered how the Government, which had spent crores of rupees for celebrations like the Global Investor Meet (GIM) to attract foreign investments and announced concessions for it, could threaten colleges set up with contributions from the common man.

It felt that the people of the State were capable of seeing the contradiction in such a stand.

The ICCE criticised the Government for what it described as taking a stand against the rights provided by the Constitution and the judgments handed down by the topmost courts of the country. Such a stand did not befit a democratic Government.

It warned of serious consequences if the Government resorted to any vindictive action.

The council maintained that some people might have thought that two self-financing colleges were equal to one Government college.

They might also have issued statements to that effect. But it did not allow anyone to deny the rights provided by the Constitution.

It asked those who led the Government to realise that.