After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government issued a draft legislation that would finally permit independent business schools to award MBAs and PhDs, but also establish government control over them, the Indian Institutes of Management have scorned at the possible threat imposed at their cherished autonomy. Professors and graduates have voiced protests saying such changes could undermine these bastions of educational excellence.
They have particularly presented their distaste with clauses in the bill that say the IIMs would need government approval for all important board decisions, which will distinctly take away their freedom to run operations. Academic dean of IIM-Calcutta Biju Paul Abraham said the board members “will always have to look over their shoulders and guess what the government wants.” “My sense is they will not interfere in everything, but they could ask, 'was this done with our approval?'” He argued, “If you have to request approval for each and every thing, things get delayed. It is unnecessarily constraining and will be a drag on decision-making and the ability to respond quickly.”
The first six IIMs established in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calicut, Indore, Kolkata and Lucknow were provided with financial support from the government along with considerable freedom to the board members. This independent structure retained the original IIMs' dynamism. The management institutes have always been the epitome of business education in India. Students have always aspired for a diploma from the prestigious IIMs, a degree that has never really bothered top league Indian employers, but more often than not, posed hindrance to graduates seeking international jobs, promotions or further education. “IIMs have been demanding an act that would enable to offer degrees and PhDs,” says Ashok Banerjee, a professor of finance and the former dean of external relations at IIM-Calcutta. “We do get students from abroad, but they just do a term. If you want to truly internationalise you need this.”
The government proposal has also outraged and alarmed several alumni who have raised their concerns with the media. “The decision to award MBAs and PhDs is welcome as it will help the newer IIMs get a leg up as they start establishing their brands while not take away from the established ones. However, a lot of autonomy is being taken away especially in matters of board and committee appointments and decisions, which is disturbing. What is even more alarming is that the draft bill doesn't seem to reflect the discussions and consensus developed in late 2014, as per the reactions of the IIM-A and IIM-C chairpersons and directors. While the case being discussed is of the IIMs, in general the government should lean towards more autonomy, not less, for all educational institutions under its purview. It anyway has separate mechanisms (UGC, AICTE) for ensuring whatever quality control it wants to implement,” says Ritwik Priya, an IIM Ahmedabad student of 2007-09 batch and now settled in London.
Following the response they have received, the administration officials have said that the bill’s language would be reviewed to remove the so-called inconsistencies before it is introduced in parliament.
