From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Oct 22: In a move that will benefit a large number of students belonging to Category I (Other Backward Classes), the State Government has enhanced the annual income ceiling of parents from the present Rs 1 lac to Rs 2 lac to enable them to seek fee concession in both aided and unaided educational institution from current academic year (2012-13).
Two of the ministers in the Jagadish Shettar regime, A Narayanaswamy (Social Welfare) and C T Ravi (Higher Education) held a meeting with officials and decided to raise the annual income limits of parents belonged to category I.
The decision would benefit about 3.5 lac students, who belong to Category I in the State.
This decision, though welcome and long overdue as students belonging to OBC category had been demanding enhancement of the annual income ceiling to enable them to seek fee concession for admission to all professional courses including medical and engineering, will definitely boost the prospects of the ruling party as it would benefit the OBC category.
Political circles predicted that the Shettar regime, already cornered by the threat of forming a separate regional outfit by the former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, would definitely come out with more similar moves targeted at people belonging to different communities, including even minorities.
The State Government is believed to be seriously considering including some of the sects within the politically powerful Lingayat community, on whose support Yeddyurappa is banking upon, within the purview of the reservation and thereby weaken his hold over the community as Shettar too belongs to the same community and hails from Hubli, in the heart of northern Karnataka. The former chief minister hails from Mandya district and is completely identified with the malnad district of Shimoga.
Ravi said a sum of Rs 95 crore had been released for payment of fee arrears to various engineering and medical colleges in the State.
The previous governments had not reimbursed fee to colleges to the tune of Rs 142 crore. The fee reimbursement for the year Rs 2012-13 would be Rs 80 crore, he said.
Students associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad staged protests for the last few weeks opposing collection of higher fee by private colleges.
College managements have informed students that they would reimburse the fee collected more than the prescribed one after the Government reimburse fee for them.
Ravi said stern action would be taken against 35 private medical and engineering college managements who charged exorbitant fee from OBC students during the admission in 2012-13 academic year.