Thiruvananthapuram: Director of recruitment company, Santa Monica, Dr.Reni Sebastian, has been appointed as Syndicate member of Sree Narayana Guru Open University (SGOU) by the government of Kerala. It must be noted that the company Santa Monica is alleged to have paid monthly payment to the firm Exalogic, run by Chief Minister’s daughter, Veena Vijayan.
Santa Monica is one of the prominent recruiting agencies in the state involved in sending scores of students to foreign universities for higher education.
The irony in this is that the present left government had taken several steps to stop the outward flow of students from the state to foreign universities. The state government had also given the green signal to private universities and foreign universities to start their campuses in the state to stem the tide of flow of students to other parts of the world for higher education.
The same left government has now given a Syndicate membership to the Director of a recruitment company that is sending thousands of youths to countries like Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. The Syndicate membership of the SGOU will only boost the image of Santa Monica, which the company could use to recruit still more students to foreign universities. This could derail the whole purpose of the initiatives to stop the flow of students.
Director of Santa Monica, Dr. Reni Sebastian, is made Syndicate member in the vacancy created by the resignation of Dr. Premkumar.
Another individual nominated to the Syndicate of the SGOU is Anusree, who is the State Vice President of SFI.
It is surprising that, when no one from CPI(M)’s alliance parties were considered for nomination, the government has nominated someone who has no direct link to CPI(M) or to the Left Democratic Front.
The Save University Campaign committee has come out against the nomination of Santa Monica’s director, Dr. Reni Sebastian. The committee has petitioned the Chief Minister against the nomination. The Save University Campaign said that appointing the director of a company involved in recruiting students to foreign universities will give a wrong message to the higher education sector in the state.
In July, last year, Santa Monica made news, when it facilitated the migration of 7,236 students from Kerala to Canada for higher education. The ‘Indian Express, in a report dated 31 July, 2023 said, “An event held in Kochi, on Saturday, by Santa Monica, an overseas education facilitator, witnessed the largest number of students migrating from a single country to a single destination in a single intake.”
Comments