The Kerala High Court has sought a response from the state government on a plea by a charitable society granting permission to start an aided arts and science college for deaf students from the academic year 2024-25. The High Court accepted the society’s plea and issued notice to the state and Mahatma Gandhi University seeking their stand on the petition, which also seeks affiliation of the university for an aided college for deaf students.
Senior advocate Jajju Babu, representing the society in the matter, told the court that the state government has informed him that a policy decision has been taken not to open new aided colleges in Kerala. However, the government has given No Objection Certificate for starting new self-financing OR unaided arts and science colleges for the academic year 2024-25 only.
The Sacred Heart Clarist Province Charitable Society has said in its petition that it runs St. Clair Oral Higher Secondary School for the Deaf in Manikka-Mangalam where 231 students are studying. The petition claimed that it had applied for approval and NOC in August last year for starting an aided arts and science college as it would have 5.71 acres of land and necessary building infrastructure, including residential accommodation facility for 100 students.
The society has claimed that apart from its school, around 126 deaf students from Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thrissur districts of Kerala successfully complete higher secondary courses and they are suffering due to lack of special colleges for deaf students.
The petition said it had also filed an application seeking affiliation for the college, which would offer degree courses in computer science to 24 students.
The society has argued that being a college for educating the deaf, – there is no justification for denying sanction and affiliation by the government or the university. Higher education/college education for the deaf is the need of the hour, – it has further argued.
Half of them pass out from higher secondary courses every year, denying them opportunities for college education. It is unfortunate that there is no aided college for the deaf in the state other than the three specialized colleges affiliated to the University of Kerala and the University of Calicut.
