Confusion prevails on mgmt quota

• Govt may take legal opinion
• Setback for top colleges, may approach SC

Both the government and the managements found themselves in a fix in the wake of the High Court verdict on category B admissions in private engineering colleges. The judgment which came after the commencement of process has left the officials of Higher Education Ministry and Council baffled and they are in a dilemma on how to go about at this juncture.

State government is now mulling to seek legal opinion on the ruling. Interacting with media In Hyderabad on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Higher Education Council, Prof P Jayaprakasharao said that he cannot react on the ruling immediately and would respond only after studying the verdict.

But sources in the Council told The Hans India that since a host of issues are involved in the judgment, it has to necessarily seek a legal advice. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sen Gupta and Justice G. Rohini on Tuesday declared that the online counselling for the management quota seats in the Engineering stream was not ultra vires and that it was lawful.

“We need a clarification as the what the bench exactly means” a senior official said But the private college managements have a different perception. They argue that the verdict should be implemented only from next academic year as the process has already started.

“Had the direction of the division bench given before the ruling of single judge, it would have been implemented from this academic year itself. Now that the colleges have started inviting applications and also made some admissions, this cannot be enforced” a owner of a college contended.

But some others differed with this view. “The process has started just now and only advertisements calling for applications were released. No admissions were made in full measure and the allotment of seats has to be ratified by the Higher Education Council. So, the verdict is applicable from this year itself” they explained.

It might be recalled that Justice Nooty Rammohana Rao has on August 8 fixed the calendar of admission and directed that admission process should start from August 11 itself and the counselling from August 19. Acting on it, the Higher Education Council released the schedule on August 13 and stated that the process of category B seats admissions will also go simultaneously- in accordance with GO No 74 issued in 2011.

Now that the division bench almost directing the government to go online for management quota (Category B), authorities are in a fix on how to go about. But the verdict appeared to be a setback to top colleges who have filed the case challenging government order of 74 on making their quota admissions online. The petitioners include Srividya Niketan, Vasavi, Gokaraju Rangaraju and Vardhaman and others may go in for an appeal in Supreme Court on the High Court verdict.

“The colleges which have filed the petition are small in number, say around 25. The rest 90% colleges are in fact ready for online admissions” a senior member of Private Colleges’ Association told The Hans India.