IIMs on a warpath with ministry on draft Bill

IIM-A joins peers in Bengaluru, Lucknow; says freedom of board under threat

The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has joined its peers in Bengaluru and Lucknow in expressing concern over certain clauses in the draft Indian Institutes of Management Bill, 2015, put up for public consultation by the human resources development ministry.

While overall the Bill looks to grant IIMs statutory status enabling them to grant degrees, clauses 35 and 36 apparently take away powers vested with the board of governors, thereby making it only a recommending body subordinate to decisions of the ministry.

According to IIM-A, the clauses were not part of an earlier draft Bill of 2014 that the IIMs had agreed upon during a meeting with the ministry in October. The draft Bill proposes that IIMs will need the approval of the ministry before notifying any change in fee structure, salary and remuneration, admission criteria or even scholarships and fellowships.

“These clauses were not there in the earlier draft Bill in 2014 that had been agreed to in consultation with the ministry,” said Arvind Sahay, dean (alumni and external relations) at IIM-A, referring to a meeting held in October 2014 where IIMs and the ministry had agreed to a draft without the clauses 35 and 36.



“The director of IIM-A has already expressed his concern about the draft IIM Bill 2015, while the chairman of the board at IIM-A is writing to the ministry expressing his concern as well. The institute had shared with its alumni the draft Bill and asked for their opinion. An overwhelming majority have reservations about the Bill,” said Sahay, adding that communications had gone to the ministry for a proper dialogue.

IIMs said the move stifled their autonomy and was contrary to what the ministry had done in 2012 under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime when the institutes' amendments to memoranda of association (MoAs) were approved, giving these more freedom in affairs such as appointing chairpersons and directors and fixing fees and admission norms. Instead, IIM directors said, in the garb of allowing the institutes to offer degrees, the draft Bill robs the premier B-schools of some of the autonomy by making the board accountable to the ministry.

 
This has taken most IIMs by surprise, with IIM-A, IIM-Lucknow (IIM-L) and IIM-Bangalore (IIM-B) expressing their concerns to the ministry. Former directors of some top IIMs argue that the premier B-schools had more or less agreed on the previous draft, whose main agenda was to grant the colleges statutory status enabling these to grant degrees instead of the post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM) and a fellow programme in management certificate.  Only IIM-A, IIM-B and IIM-C had a different opinion.

“During the UPA regime when talks of the IIM Bill began, we argued that the PGDM certificates of IIM-A, -B and -Calcutta were competent enough globally and were not coming in the way of academics. Our second argument was that if the government thought IIMs had come of age, we should be anyway allowed to grant degrees without forming any Parliament Act,” recalls a former director of one of the older IIMs.

Former IIM-A director Samir Barua said, "I individually think the established IIMs need such a Bill. If anything, it will be detrimental to their functioning. These institutions are best governed by a good board comprising competent and committed individuals, a majority of whom are drawn from the alumni of the institutions. The newer institutions also do not need the Bill as the older institutions have agreed to mentor the new institutions."

IIMs said they had been doing well for the past few decades without government support. IIM-A, -B and -C are financially independent and do not seek government grants. "We are globally recognised institutions with international rankings. Instead of supporting us in our endeavour to do better, the government wants to stifle our growth by bringing in ridiculous norms to comply with," said an IIM director on condition of anonymity.

By bringing in such clauses and norms, IIMs said, the government would make it further difficult for the institutes to attract international faculty and leaders.

BONE OF CONTENTION IN DRAFT IIM BILL

• Clause 35 and 36 that rob the board of governors of its powers
   
• Board of governors will need ministry approval before passing any regulation
   
• Changes in fees, remuneration, infrastructure, scholarships, etc, will need ministry approval
   
• A visitor as a de facto head of the institute to be appointed through the ministry
   
• Appointments of chairpersons and directors will need ministry nod