Kochi, 22 December (HS): An educationist of repute has pointed out the disturbing trend in Kerala Government’s license to aided educational institutions in the district of Malappuram, popularly known as a mini Pakistan thanks to its 78 per cent Musim population.

This is like pushing Kerala to what Kashmir was before the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution which had given the latter a special status, pointed out Prof K S Radhakrishnan, former vice chancellor, Sree Sankara Sanskrit University, Kalady,

“The government of the day, let it be the CPI(M)-led PDF or the Congress-led UDF, allocates aided schools and colleges to the Muslim community in order to appease the Islamic vote bank. Hindus which constitute 26 per cent of the district’s population has not been allowed even a Lower Primary School. But the Christians which have a population of 1.98 per cent have been allocated one aided college and ten aided schools,” said Prof Radhakrishnan.

Aided educational institutions are those getting 100 per cent funds for paying the salaries and pension of teachers and non-teaching staff. He said even if the Hindus come forward to start schools and colleges, the management has to pay the salaries and pension to the teaching and non-teaching staff.

Aided schools and colleges could begin only with the permission of the government. There are no yardsticks to determine the criteria for allocating such institutions. It is the government’s discretionary power and this can never be challenged in courts, said the former vice chancellor.

He also pointed out that 70 per cent of the aided educational institutions in the State are owned by the Muslim and Christian managements, “There are 16,000 UGC teachers employed in the State. Out of this, 12,000 are working in aided colleges,” he said and described it as a grave imbalance.

Vellappalli Natesan, general secretary, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP Yogam) had lashed out recently against the imbalance in allocating aided institutions in the State. SNDP Yogam is the collective of the politically powerful Eezhava community which constitute 25 per cent of the State’s population. The Yogam has not been allowed even a lower primary school in Malappuram district though it owns and operate hundreds of colleges and schools elsewhere in the State.

Since then, the Muslim League, the second largest constituent in the UDF has been crying for the blood of Natesan, a close personal friend of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti