VIJAYAWADA: The high court on Friday quashed certain rules pertaining to admission into B category seats for various undergraduate courses in private aided and unaided degree colleges in the state.
While disposing the petitions and allowing private degree colleges to issue admission notification for filling up of 30 per cent seats under management quota, the court also directed the state government to extend welfare measures under Jagananna Vidya Deevena and Jagananna Vasati Deevena to SC and ST students admitted under management quota.
Amending the rules of admission into undergraduate courses, the government had issued GO 55 on October 7, as per which seats in private colleges were to be divided in the ratio of 70:30 as category A and category B. While the ratio of seats used to be the same earlier, the government amended the rules saying seats in both categories will be filled through online admission by the convenor instead of filling 30% of seats by managements.
Challenging the GO, Rayalaseema degree colleges association moved the high court alleging that the state government is taking away their right and liberty to give admissions to students of their choice under management quota.
On the other hand, the state government argued that filling up of management quota seats by the convenor is meant to bring transparency into the system and curb illegal practices by the colleges, thereby providing equal opportunities to students across the state.
The high court bench headed by Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy observed there is no valid reason or rationale behind the GO and it is manifestly arbitrary. The court further said that as seats under convenor quota are not being filled in more than 70% of the colleges, if the right to fill 30% of seats is taken away from the managements there is no question of filling up seats under management quota by the convenor. Setting aside the rules, the court allowed private colleges to issue notifications for admissions under management quota.
