Left cadres disrupt med entrance exams

The face-off between the state’s self-financing professional colleges and the Left parties bent on reining them in took another twist on Saturday, with the All Kerala Private Medical College Managements Association cancelling its entrance examination for medical courses. This was after a mob of SFI and AISF activists, student outfits of the CPM and the CPI, respectively, attacked and ransacked an examination hall here on Saturday.

Some 3200 students from all parts of the state and beyond were to take the examinations on Saturday. The mob broke in to the examination halls, broke chairs, tables and window panes and tore up hall tickets of students, while the policemen watched. The SFI and AISF had warned earlier that they would not allow the entrance examinations to be held, maintaining that these colleges were run as money minting businesses, and the entrance examination they conducted was illegal.

The Association had moved the Kerala High Court on Friday seeking police protection for conducting the examination, while the state Government argued that the examination was not legal. The court had refused to order protection.

Alleging that the violence was sponsored by the Left Government, association’s general secretary George Paul said the colleges would not attempt to conduct the examination again, and would approach the court.