THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Catholic bishops and representatives from Catholic educational institutions met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday. They requested clarification on the education department’s circular regarding reservations for physically challenged candidates in appointments. Additionally, they urged the the chief minister to reinstate physical education teacher posts in all aided educational institutions and the appointment of degree holders in non-teaching posts. They also sought relaxation in property tax for educational institutions and hostels.
The bishops also made requests for new scholarships for students and submitted a five-point memorandum on the development of self-financing engineering colleges.
Their demands included declaring engineering colleges as industrial free zones to create employment opportunities, establishing education hubs, and cooperation with international universities.
They also asked for a solution to the issue of the management’s inability to offer a single seat in private nursing colleges to candidates from the community.