Arjun quick on draw: I’m for IIM autonomy

Speaking to The Indian Express before his portfolio of HRD Minister was confirmed, Singh hinted that a particular agenda had been given too much importance in the running of the ministry over the past few years.

Singh would not go into the specifics of what should be done with the IIMs, arguing that he was not fully aware of the goings-on. But he reasoned that the Joshi-run ministry had many shortcomings.

His general comment on the issue of the IIMs was: ‘‘There have been many aberrations in various areas of working (of the HRD Ministry). And the basis of the NDA government’s functioning was ad-hocism—what they could make out personally. It was not in national interest.’’ This was enough suggestion that Singh believed Joshi’s attitude towards the IIMs was shaped by his personal attitude and was not based on any policy framework. However, he was categorical when it came to guaranteeing the autonomy of higher education institutions, especially IIMs, IITs and universities. ‘‘Autonomy in centres of higher learning must continue,’’ he said. It was during Singh’s stint as the HRD minister in the early 1990s that the first steps were taken to initiate reforms in the IIMs and to grant them a degree of financial independence. When asked whether he would accede to the Left demand for detoxification, Singh smiled. Referring to detoxification, he said :‘‘ It is a medical term.’’ And then after a pause he added, ‘‘It (detoxification) has to be applied.’’