Pinarayi Vijayan slams Christian managements for commercialising education

After the introduction of self-financing professional colleges, the scene took a turn for the worse.
Sparing a few, all Christian managements are now after profit and commercial interests

Kozhikode, First Published Jan 17, 2017, 10:17 AM IST

A day after the Catholic Church urged its members to create a protective cover around a self financing Engineering College in Kannur which is facing student protests, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has criticised Christian management institutions for commercialising education.

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Christian managements used to turn their back on commercial interests in education. But after the introduction of self-financing professional colleges, the scene took a turn for the worse, Chief Minister said. "Now they also became part of the business. Sparing a few, all Christian managements are now after profit and commercial interests," he said.

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Even liquor barons are now running educational institutions with an eye on profit. They auction off faculty jobs and made even bigger profit. Though the government initiated a probe, (unfortunately) nobody came up with a complaint, he added. He reiterated that the State Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau would conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the corruption in self-financing colleges.

Chief Minister's sharp criticism of private self-financing colleges comes in the wake of the simmering student protests across Kerala after the, a first year B.tech student, who was found hanging in the hostel room of Nehru College of Engineering at Thrissur recently. The death brought out the cut-throat commercialisation and brutal harassment of students by college managements in Kerala.

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There were reports that Vimal Jyothi Engineering College in Kannur was collecting huge fine from students. The college allegedly collected fine for laughing and late coming. Students' organisations announced protest march to the college, prompting the Archdiocese of Thalassery to take a confrontationist position. It urged believers to protect the college from agitators, inviting criticisms that the church was communalising the issue.

The Catholic Church, an influential presence in the education sector in Kerala, is yet to respond to Chief Minister's criticism.

Last Updated Mar 22, 2022, 3:55 PM IST