Revision as of 19:49, 20 December 2017

Autonomy

2017: full autonomy, will award degrees, not diplomas

IIMs to get full autonomy, will award degrees, not diplomas, Jan 25, 2017The Times of India

The Cabinet cleared a bill to grant the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) complete autonomy to run their affairs and award degrees to their graduates. Once the bill is passed by Parliament, IIMs will also be declared `institutions of national importance’.

The Indian Institutes of Management Bill, 2017, does away with the government's role in running premier business schools. All powers will be vested in 15-member boards at every IIM. Also, the bill has no provision for reservation in faculty jobs, apart from stating that the recruitment policy should be inclusive. Reservation in admission for SCsSTsOBCs in IIMs will be as per existing norms. The move comes after months of wrangling between the HRD ministry and the Prime Minister's Office on the bill's autonomy provisions.

The Cabinet cleared the IIM bill in the absence of HRD minister Prakash Javadekar. Sources close to him said Javadekar had a phone conversation with PM Narendra Modi and had taken leaves for his son's wedding in Pune. However, a former cabinet secretary said, “I have never seen the subject of a ministry being taken up in the absence of the minister. The entire Cabinet should be briefed.“

Shortly after the decision, PM Modi tweeted, “The IIM Bill focuses on complete autonomy , effective administration, more alumni participation and many other areas.“ Javadekar hailed the decision as a “historic one“ which would give IIMs real autonomy and power to grant degrees. “We trust excellence and quality . This reflects vision of the Modi government for higher education,“ he tweeted.

According to the bill, the responsibility of running each IIM will be vested in its board headed by a chairperson, who will be an eminent person from the field of educationindustry science or technology . Apart from the chairperson, each board will have a representative for the HRD ministry , one for the state government, four eminent persons, four alumni, one member of the IIM society , two faculty members and a director who will be an ex-officio member. At least one member of the board should be either from the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes and three members should be women. The board will have the power to select the director.

The chairperson will have the power to invite experts for meetings but not the power to vote. The bill also provides for review of the performance of IIMs by independent agencies and auditing by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). On the lines of the IIT council, there will be a Coordination Forum of IIMs (CFIs). It will be a 33-member body headed by a chairperson with a two-year term.

‘Institutions of national importance,’ can set up campuses abroad

Manash Gohain, IIMs can grant degrees, set up campuses abroad, December 20, 2017: The Times of India

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill declaring Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as “institutions of national importance” and allowing them to grant degrees and set up campuses abroad.

Advocating more autonomy to the premier management institutions, HRD minister Prakash Javadekar had introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on February 9, were is it was passed unanimously. Providing statutory powers to the IIMs, the Bill enables the institutions to “set up centres of management studies and allied areas outside India in accordance with guidelines laid

down by the central government from time to time and in accordance with the provisions of the laws in force in such foreign country”.

While the board of governors (BOG) will now be the principal executive body of each IIM, the Bill also empowers the IIMs to appoint their own chairperson. Instead of the Centre, the Board will now appoint the director (now termed as chief executive officer) of each IIM. Also the searchcum-selection committee to be constituted by the Board will consist of the chairperson and three members from among eminent administrators, industrialists, educationists, scientists, technocrats and management specialists.

The BOG of each IIM shall consist of a chairperson, one nominee each of the Centre and the state government, four eminent persons (including a woman) distinguished in the field of education, industry, commerce, social service or public administration. Two faculty members, one member from SC or ST sections and up to five people co-opted from the alumni or who are members of the society of the existing institute would also be members of the board. There would be at least three women members.

Dropout rates: 2014-16

The Indian Institutes of Management with the highest number of dropouts in 2014-16 : November 30, The Times of India

Staff issues

2016: 13 out of 20 IIMs functioning without directors

13 out of 20 IIMs without directors, govt informs LS, Nov 22 2016 : The Times of India

Government in Nov 2016 admitted that 13 out of 20 IIMs are functioning without directors.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha, minister of state for HRD Mahendra Nath Pandey said IIMs in Bengaluru, Kozhikode, Rohtak, Ranchi, Raipur, Udaipur, Tiruchirappalli, Amritsar, Sirmaur, Bodh Gaya, Sambalpur, Nagpur and Visakhapatnam are without directors.

As already reported by TOI, in case of 10 of the 13 IIMs, HRD ministry has been sitting on the names shortlisted by the search-cum-selection committees for over six months now. In fact, names of directors of four IIMs -Raipur, Bangalore, Rohtak and Ranchi -were sent to department of personnel & training (DoPT) by Smriti Irani during her last days as HRD minister. However, after the reshuffle, DoPT returned the files to the HRD ministry for consideration of Prakash Javadekar. He is yet to decide on the names. In case of other IIMs without directors -except Kozhikode and Udaipur -even government admitted in Parliament that search-cum-selection committee had already provided the names of shortlisted candidates. “Shortlisted names are with the ministry for long,“ one source said.

The ministry maintained that work of IIMs is going on smoothly as directors of the mentor IIMs are looking after the six new IIMs (IIM Amritsar, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Nagpur and IIM Visakhapatnam), till the appointment of regular director. For other IIMs, the tenure of the outgoing director has been extended or the seniormost professor of the institute has been given additional charge of the post of director.