IIMs to discuss court verdict on April 3

Infosys Chairman N R Narayana Murthy, who has come out strongly against the reduction in the fees for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), said yesterday the board of IIM-Ahmedabad would meet on April 3 to discuss and review the situation in the light of the Supreme Court endorsing government's decision on fee cuts.

"The public interest litigation(PIL) was filed by three individuals and not by the IIM-Ahmedabad board or the society", Murthy said reacting to the apex court's verdict which endorsed the government's controversial decision after it promised not to interfere with the running of the IIMs.

In fact, the IIM-Ahmedabad board was yet to meet on the fee reduction issue, Murthy, who had attacked the government decision, calling it "retrograde, ill-advised and not based on data, facts, reason or logic", said."The IIM-Ahmedabad board will meet on April 3 to discuss and review the situation and take appropriate action", he said.

Murthy, who is the chairman of the IIM-Ahmedabad board of governors, also said that the government had taken the decision without detailed consultation with stake-holders such as the chairmen of the IIMs and its directors. He also emphasised that higher education should not be subsidised.

Taking up the cudgels for the IIMs, Murthy had recently met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee seeking to make out a case against the fee cuts.