Now Christian educational institutions also after money: Kerala CM

January 18, 2017

Kozhikode, Jan 18: Coming down heavily on private self-financing college managements, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that even Christian managements which had once strived for social service have become part of the education business lobby in the State.

Inaugurating the diamond jubilee celebrations of St. Joseph's College, Devagiri, here on Tuesday, Mr. Vijayan complained that most of the self-financing colleges, except a few under Christian management, had turned educational institutions into commercial ventures.

He said that Christian missionaries had set up educational institutions in the State with the objective of social service. “However, the onset of self-financing institutions resulted in education becoming a crass profit-making mission," he remarked. “Initially the Christian managements declined to commercialise the education sector. But now they too have become part of this trend and only a few are out of its influence,” he said.

Mr. Vijayan pointed out the illegal and unscrupulous methods adopted by managements, including taking bribes, while hiring teachers for the private self- financing sector. “This is nothing but corruption and looting,” he said.

“Nowadays the managements resort to auctioning of teachers' posts instead of the earlier practice of taking only token donations,” Mr. Vijayan said.

The Chief Minister said that Christian corporate managements had previously refrained from collecting donations from teachers and merit was the main criterion.

The situation seemed to have changed with the changing times, he said.

He said the State government had issued directives to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to initiate a probe into the malpractices prevalent in the self- financing sector. Unfortunately none raised any complaints. “The government cannot agree to the aided educational institutions turning into profit-making enterprises. The Vigilance has been asked to bring them before the law,” he added.

St. Joseph's College, Devagiri , started in 1956, is the first college in the country to get an A++ grade under the newly adopted National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) assessment system for higher education institutions.

College Principal Sibichen M. Thomas; Fr. Joseph Vayalil, CMI; M.K. Raghavan, MP; and M.K. Muneer, MLA were present.

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QR-code tips power Mangaluru's major drug bust: 25 arrested in 2 weeks

News Network

December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

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