AICTE panel nullifies appointment of IRMA Principal/Director

This order could have far reaching implications for the country’s premier rural management institute affiliated to National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

The panel’s ruling could hurt IRMA’s ability to take new admissions for a period of one academic year.

A high-level Standing Complaint Scrutiny Committee of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has nullified the appointment of Hitesh V Bhatt as Principal/Director of Anand-based Institute of Rural Management and has recommended action as per AICTE rules.

The panel’s ruling could hurt IRMA’s ability to take new admissions for a period of one academic year. The four-member Standing Complaint Scrutiny Committee (SCSC) under the chairmanship of Justice (retd.) N L Tibrewal, had in an order passed on September 27, 2019, termed Bhatt’s appointment “ineligible” and referred the matter to the Approval Bureau to proceed for taking action as per AICTE norms.

“The present Principal/ Director Sh. Hitesh V Bhatt does not fulfil the eligibility criteria, as such the institute does not have qualified Principal. Hence the matter is referred to the Approval Bureau to proceed for taking action as per AICTE norms,” said the September 27 order. While AICTE rules prescribe that the Principal/Director should have Ph.D or equivalent in appropriate discipline, Bhatt, did not have the same at the time of his appointment on December 1, 2017. The order notes, “On re-examination the appointment of the Principal /Director H V Bhatt, the committee is of the view that on the date of his appointment he was not qualified as Principal/Director as he was not having Ph.D/equivalence of Ph.D, which was relaxed by the institute without having authority”. When contacted, Bhatt declined to offer his comment.

This order could have far reaching implications for the country’s premier rural management institute affiliated to National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). According to AICTE Regulations 2012, if an institute fails to have a qualified Principal/Director for a period of more than 18 months, then it shall have “No admission status for one academic year” as a punitive action by the council.

In case of IRMA, Bhatt has already occupied the position of Director for over 22 months now and thus the institute may face penalty under AICTE rules. Rule 14.3 of the AICTE Regulation 2012 reads, “Institutions not having qualified Principal / Director for period, more than 18 months shall be liable to following punitive action by the Council: No admission status for one academic year”.

The order has been passed on the complaint of Ram Manohar Vikas, an Assistant Professor at IRMA who also holds a Ph.D from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He is a resident of IRMA Campus, Anand. Bhatt holds a degree of B Tech from IIT Delhi and MS in Industrial Management from Georgia Tech, Atlanta, USA.

He started his career with Reliance Textile Industries Limited in 1979. Apart from Reliance, he has worked in Mafatlal group of mills, Sunflag group of textile and garment factories among others. He started his academic career in 1995 with IRMA as an Associate Professor.