IIM-Ahmedabad director writes to Human Resource Development Ministry

After vocal criticism of the Institutes of Management Bill, 2015, drafted by the Human Resource Development Ministry, Ashish Nanda, Director, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, has written to the Ministry, cautioning it against introducing several key provisions aimed at taking away the autonomy of the institutes.

The Ministry has received the letter dated June 24 in which Mr. Nanda has flagged several issues arising from the provisions, some of which, he says, must be deleted and some amended. Mr. Nanda’s suggestions are premised on the autonomy of the IIMs.

IIM-Bangalore's former director Pankaj Chandra says he wants the Bill “to be done away with”. Mr. Chandra says the very introduction of the Bill is problematic as it raises serious questions about the standard and quality of the IIMs.

“Have the IIMs performed badly? Do they require to be regulated when they are already governed by the Memorandum of Association?” he asks.

Mr. Chandra says the fact that the government is thinking of a Bill to regulate the institutions implies that the IIMs are not up to the mark. “Somebody needs to explain why the autonomy promised in the MOA is being taken away?”

He makes out a strong case for autonomy when he says the IIM Board should choose the Director and the institutes should be Board-governed. He questions the need to do away with diplomas currently awarded by the IIMs and introduce degrees. Diplomas awarded by the IIMs are recognised worldwide, he says.

Mr. Nanda’s letter focusses on rules for appointing the chairperson, powers of the Board, terms and condition of the service of the Director and allowances to the Coordination Forum, which unequivocally places all relevant powers with the Central government. These provisions coming under Subsection 35 (2) in the proposed Bill should be deleted, he says.

Mr. Nanda expresses concern at the overarching government control, evident in the use of the word regulation, which, he writes, needs to be done away with.

Particularly worrying are the clauses in the draft Bill that give powers currently held by the individual IIM Boards to the government, the letter points out.

The draft rules propose that regulations made by the Board must have the approval of the Central government. The sweeping government control, the letter says, will extend to an entire range of strategic and operational decisions of the institutes — that range from admission of candidates to various programmes, determining posts and emoluments of faculty and staff, formation of departments, establishment and maintenance of buildings, determining directors’ powers and responsibilities, conferring powers on the academic council and in fact, the very constitution of the Board requires prior government approval.

Mr. Nanda recommends doing away with the clause “with the approval of Central government”, substituting it instead with the following, “regulations’ means regulations made by the Board”.

The proposed Act also vests the appointment of chairperson with the government, which provision the IIM-A Director wanted deleted.

Corrections and Clarifications:

The report headlined ‘Don’t take away our autonomy: IIMs’, that appeared on June 25, 2015, erroneously described, and also carried a photograph of, Pankaj Chandra as the Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, while quoting him. Professor Chandra is a former Director of the Institute. Dr. Sushil Vachani (in the picture) is the Director of IIM Bangalore, a position he has held for a year now. The error is regretted.