IUML MLA Muneer to launch indefinite ‘satyagraha’ for Plus One seats in Kozhikode
The Hindu
IUML leader Dr. M.K. Muneer plans 'satyagraha' for more Plus One seats in Kozhikode, alleging government neglect.
M.K. Muneer, former Minister and the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) lone MLA in Kozhikode, is planning to launch an indefinite ‘satyagraha’ on July 19 seeking additional Plus One batches for higher secondary schools the district.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader, who is a legislator from the Koduvally segment, told the media on Saturday that there was a shortage of around 5,300 Plus One seats in Kozhikode at present. Dr. Muneer said that the government had been ignoring the plight of the students in the district even after he presented the facts related to it in the Assembly.
The government recently sanctioned 120 additional temporary batches for Malappuram and 18 for Kasaragod to address the shortage in these districts. This followed a report on the present situation submitted by an official panel that studied the demand for more Plus One seats in the Malabar region.
Dr. Muneer, however, alleged that the official panel did not bother to visit Kozhikode, which had the second highest number of students who are out of the Plus One admissions process in the State after Malappuram. He also claimed that the additional batches allotted to those districts were only in humanities and commerce streams and not in the science stream.
Dr. Muneer also accused the government of citing financial constraints to deny the legitimate rights of the students in north Kerala. “The General Education Minister claimed that sanctioning additional batches would incur a burden of around ₹14 crore on the exchequer. This government has no problem in spending ₹18 crore on events such as ‘Keraleeyam’, though,” he pointed out.
The ‘satyagraha’ would be held outside the office of the Deputy Director of Education, Kozhikode. Affiliate organisations of the Congress, IUML, and other UDF constituents and cultural activists would be present, Dr. Muneer added.
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