The Madras High Court today directed that the Common Entrance Test (CET) to fill the management quota seats proposed to be conducted by The Consortium of Self Financing Professional, Arts and Science Colleges in TamilNadu
could be held as scheduled on 24 and 25 July and the results should be declared by 5 August.
Delivering the verdict in the case filed by the consortium and All-India Medical and Engineering Colleges Association, challenging certain norms laid down by the Justice S S Subramani Committee on the conduct of common entrance examinations for admission and selection procedures, Justice D Murugesan said certain conditions laid down by the panel would be cancelled while relaxing others.
The Justice Subramani Committee had stipulated that the self-financing colleges could conduct the CET and admit students under the management quota only through the Single Window System (SWS). However, Justice Murugesan today cancelled the conditions laid down by the panel stating that admission through the management quota would be through SWS and that the question paper should be on the pattern of the TNPCEE conducted by Anna University.
Also, the judge set aside the condition laid down by the panel as per which the consortium would have to take care of the expenses of the expert panel appointed by Justice Subramani Committee. Instead, the government would have to bear the expenses, he said.
In the case of unaided minority educational institutions, the judge said 70 per cent of the seats can be reserved for students belonging to the minority communities. For the rest of the 30 per cent seats, admission of students should be through the SWS, he added.
As for the unaided non-minority colleges, Justice Murugesan upheld the conditions stipulated by the Justice S S Subramani Committee as per which 50 per cent of the seats should be surrendered to the government while the rest could be filled under the management quota.
It may be recalled as per a Supreme Court directive, the State government formed the Subramani Committee to oversee the conduct of CET to fill the management quota seats in self-financing private colleges. Later, the The Consortium of Self Financing Professional, Arts and Science Colleges in TamilNadu
challenged the conditions laid down by the panel including the norms for conducting the CET and admission of students.
The Supreme Court Thursday adjourned for three weeks a plea seeking permission to conduct all India common entrance test for admission to seats allotted to private professional college managements.
The petition has been filed by the All India Medical and Engineering Colleges Association representing self-financing professional college managements.
A bench of judges Y.K. Sabharwal and D.M. Dharmadhikari asked the petitioner to furnish details of the number of colleges -- members of the association -- who had opted for admission to the management quota through the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE), which is the mode of admission prescribed by the University Grants Commission, and the number of students who had joined through AIEEE counselling.
Senior counsel Rohinton Nariman representing the association submitted that at the state level there were two common entrance tests (CETs) -- one conducted by the state government agency and the other by unaided private colleges' association -- there was no such provision for conducting an all India CET.
He said that the association has over 1,000 private unaided self-financing professional colleges throughout the country as its members, who have come together for finding a method for filling the management quota for 2004-05.
The counsel said the association wanted to hold the CET on August 7, but it was seeking the court's permission in the view of some guidelines issued by the UGC in December 2003.
Citing earlier judgements, he said unaided private educational institutions had absolute right and autonomy to hold a separate test and what was applicable to the state level should be extended to the national level also.
He said the colleges might be given option to choose either the AIEEE mode or the all-India CET proposed by the petitioner association.
The Bench, however, wanted more details about admissions made through AIEEE and adjourned the proceedings.
The petitioner has sought a direction to the Central government, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), UGC and other admitting agencies to approve the common test to be conducted by the association for admitting students under the management quota.
It has also sought an interim stay of the regulations issued by the UGC and the consequent order passed by the AICTE.
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