Accusing Health Minister K.K. Shylaja of accepting bribe from private medical college managements, the Kerala Students Union (KSU) has sought her resignation.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, KSU president K.M. Abhijith alleged that the State government had surrendered before the managements.
“The government is behaving as if professional education is meant only for the rich. The steep hike in fees for medical undergraduate and postgraduate courses is a case in point. When students’ organisations objected to it, the fees were reduced nominally,” he said.
Mr. Abhijith said the inability of the government to reach an understanding with private medical college managements was an ample proof of the corruption in the sector. The admission process was yet to start and the delay would give the managements a ruse to seek permission for spot admissions.
“We suspect that the Minister has accepted bribe from the managements. If the government does not solve the stalemate, we will not allow Ms. Shylaja to attend public functions,” he said.
Mr. Abhijith said the government should ensure that admission was conducted only under the supervision of the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE) and from the rank list of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test.
Anti-fascism drive
Mr. Abhijith said the KSU would organise a State-level campaign titled ‘Swathantrya Samrakshana Sadassu’ against the fascist tendencies of the Union government.
Feroze Khan, president, National Students Union of India, would inaugurate it in Kozhikode on July 27. “Communal forces are now determining what we should eat and wear and how we should travel. We need to oppose their actions,” he said.
Mr. Abhijith alleged that the event would also try to highlight “the anti-democratic attitude of the Left-aligned students and youth organisations.”