LDF walkout over professional colleges admission issue

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala government today said it would seek cancellation of affiliation of two private self-financing medical colleges in the state that had not signed agreement with it on sharing seats and fee structure.

This was stated by Health Minister VS Sivakumar in the state assembly while replying to a notice for a debate by CPI-M led LDF Opposition over the alleged stalemate in admission for medical colleges in the state due to 'failure' of government to rein self-financing professional colleges.

LDF members led by their leader VS Achuthanandan staged a walkout when their demand for a discussion on the issue was rejected by the government.

Sivakumar denied Opposition charge and said 15 private medical colleges that singed agreement with the government last year had agreed to enter into pact this year also.

In these colleges, fifty per cent of the total seats would be filled from merit list of the Entrance Examination conducted by the state.

Four private medical colleges have not come forward to sign the agreement, he said.

Among this, two colleges come under minority status. In the case of other two -- Karuna Medical College, Palakkad, and Kannur Medical College -- government would take stern action, he said.

There were nine government-run medical colleges in the state, he said, adding admission process to these colleges were progressing without any problem.

The state has 1,250 medical seats in government sector and 1,500 in self-financing colleges, he said.

Before walkout, Achuthanandan charged the government with being hand in glove with private self-financing colleges and and said education had been commercialised.