IIM-C may respond to SC notice

The board of the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, is likely to respond to the notice of the Supreme Court on IIM fee cut by referring to the proceedings of the institute's board meeting of March 26 and the resolution emerging it.

In the resolution, drafted by Board Chairman YC Deveshwar, the board agreed to reduce fees to the extent of subsidy received from the government.

It also sought from the government the payment of subsidy and a merit-based process for student and faculty selection.

"By placing the matter before the Supreme Court, the IIM-C board will be securing for the institute the requisite guarantees needed on the issues of subsidy payment and autonomy," said sources close to the development.

At its March 26 meeting, the board, including the government nominees, had empowered chairman YC Deveshwar to word the resolution on the issue. Inclusion as a party in the IIM-related litigation before the SC would secure a judicial stamp on the strategy outlined in the resolution relating to the fee structure and the autonomy of IIM-C.

The city institute is the only one which has decided to scale back fees but attached conditions relating to the payment of subsidy by the central government and guarantees relating to autonomy.

The central government had refused to give a written guarantee on the autonomy of the IIMs before the Supreme Court. "The central government by endorsing the IIM-C resolution and placing it before the Supreme Court would be providing the reassurance that the institute has been seeking", said the source.

The IIM-C resolution stated the reduction in fee would be equal to the amount of subsidy provided by the ministry through funding. It was based on the assurance given by the ministry that the financial consequences of implementing the order would be fully funded by the government and would not adversely impact the institute's plans to develop world-class teaching and learning infrastructure.

The resolution was passed on the explicit understanding the fee cut would not result in infringement of the empowerment of the board as contained in the Memorandum of Association and the empowerment of the director and the faculty bodies operating within the Memorandum of Association would not be curbed.

The resolution cautioned that the decision of the Supreme Court, if any, would override any decisions including that of the board of governors.

Earlier, representatives of the ministry of human resource development had assured the IIMC board, in response to apprehensions expressed by the faculty representatives, that the existing system of group discussion and interviews would continue as part of the selection process in determining merit and suitability of candidates for admission.