Bring Scheme To Ensure Institutions Don't Suffer While BPL Students Are Allowed To Continue Education : Kerala High Court To Govt

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday extended the interim order temporarily refraining self-financing colleges from taking any form of detrimental action against students belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category merely for not paying the college fee till 1st September. The students in the BPL category were recently stripped of the scholarship scheme that was previously available to them.

Justice Devan Ramachandran has asked the Government to come up with a mechanism to ensure that the institutions do not suffer while the students belonging to the BPL category are allowed to continue their education as a situation where students belonging to the BPL category are unable to continue their education would be contrary to the social engineering principles in the Constitutional Scheme. 

...when scholarships are taken away, students like the petitioners, who belong to the BPL category, would be to a situation where they will be unable to continue with their education. This would be contrary to the social engineering principles that we hold dear in our constitutional scheme; and certainly therefore, the Government has to come up with a mechanism to ensure that the institutions do not suffer, while the BPL students are allowed to continue their education. 

 The plea was moved by a few persons belonging to the BPL category through Advocate V. Sethunath, alleging that they were allotted to the Self-financing Colleges by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations and that they had accepted the allotment based on their own preference under the impression that they were entitled to a scholarship.

However, they argued that this scholarship now stood withdrawn on account of certain judgments and orders issued by the High Court. They moved the Court, alleging that they have been left incapable of paying the tuition fees and are being threatened with expulsion from the college.

When the matter was taken up today, Government Pleader Advocate P.G. Pramod sought time to obtain instructions stating that the Government is in process of evaluating and assessing the queries of the Court.

Thereby, the Court has adjourned the matter to 1st September 2022. 

Case Title: Nimal James & Ors v. State of Kerala & Ors. 

Click Here To Read/Download The Order