The Hindu : National : IIM-Ahmedabad maintains status quo on fee

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 20, 2004

National

National

IIM-Ahmedabad maintains status quo on fee

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD, JUNE 19. Ending the controversy over the fee cut issue, the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, today decided to maintain the status quo, charging the same fee — Rs. 1.58 lakhs a student a year — for the academic year starting later this month.

Reflecting the concern of the Human Resource Development Ministry over students from the economically weak sections of society, the board decided to raise the eligibility limit of the family income from the present Rs. 1.5 lakhs to Rs. 2 lakhs a year. Also, it quadrupled the fund for providing scholarships, from Rs. 25 lakhs a year to Rs. 1 crore, with flexibility to raise it further if needed.

The decisions were ratified by the IIM-A Society, one of the founders of the institution, at its meeting, which followed the board meeting. The Additional Secretary in the HRD Ministry, Sudip Bannerjee, attended the board meeting as the Central Government representative.

According to the IIM-A Director, Bakul Dholakia, the board's decisions are final and no further meeting with the Ministry is required. He denied that a meeting was to be held with the HRD Minister, Arjun Singh, on June 25 for final clearance for the decisions of various IIM boards. "I am not aware of any such meeting," he said.

Mr. Dholakia indicated that the IIMs would explore the possibility of a uniform fee structure from the next academic year. But each would be independent to take its own decision, subject to ratification by its board.

Briefing mediapersons after the board meeting, its chairman, N.R. Narayana Murthy, and Mr. Dholakia, said that while the IIM-A was "highly grateful" to the "support" extended by Mr. Arjun Singh, it would not seek any Central grant as last year.

"We do not want to be a burden on the Government," Mr. Narayana Murthy said. The board studied the IIM-A budget for the next academic year and found that "our financial position is comfortable." He said he believed that Government grants should be diverted to primary education, where it was required the most, rather than to institutions of higher learning, which could manage their affairs.

"It does not mean we do not need the blessings and support of the Government," Mr. Narayana Murthy said, "but we appreciate that there are more urgent, more imminent and more pressing demands on the Government resources from other sectors" than the IIM-A. "We do not need the Government funds."

Mr. Dholakia, however, said that even with Rs. 25 lakhs available for scholarships earlier, a large part of it remained unused as students got bank loans and other assistance.

But from this year, he believed, there would be more scholarship-seekers because it had now been "integrated" with the admission system.

"Getting scholarships will become the first choice for the needy students instead of being the last resort as in the past."

The financial aid committee, however, would ensure against any misuse of the scholarship funds by the economically well-off and undeserving candidates.

Mr. Narayana Murthy thanked Mr. Singh for honouring the autonomy of the management institutions to decide their own affairs. "We are very grateful to the Minister for the support extended to the IIMs."

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