GO 13 favours colleges: PIL

A public interest litigation was moved before the Hyderabad High Court challenging GO 13, which facilitates managements of private engineering and pharmacy colleges to verify the paying capacity of students seeking seats in the management quota.

Mr M. Lakshma Reddy, president of Association for Strengthening of Private Initiative in Rural Education (ASPIRE), who moved the PIL, told the court that the GO, issued on August 14, 2014, was contrary to the judgement of the Supreme Court.

He said the government had given an option to college managements to ask students to appear in person for interview to substantiate their credibility and financial capability.

The GO had allowed managements to reject selected candidates and communicate the reasons to the competent authority.

He told the court that GO envisaged that college managements could make admissions into B category seats on their own.

Some colleges appeared to have formed a consortium and planned to conduct admissions on the same day, thereby making it impossible for a student to be present at more than one place at the same time, he said.

The petitioner said the net consequence of the GO was that poor but bright students, particularly those from remote rural areas, were unable to apply for B category seats.

This made it an unequal battle with people from rich urban families who can pay lakhs of rupees as capitation fee.

He urged the court to declare the GO as illegal and direct the government to make online admission. About 20,000 students would apply for B category seats if the system was placed online.

THE GO had allowed managements to reject selected candidates and communicate the reasons to the competent authority.