HRD ensures IIM Kolkata can’t push its anti-fee cut resolution

This draft resolution will be debated at the next meeting of the institute’s board-cum-society on April 3.

Late tonight, the IIM Kozhikode board, meeting under the chairmanship of A C Muthaiah, accepted the stand on the fee cut. ‘‘The board unanimously resolved to accept the government’s decision and reduce the annual fee from the present Rs 1 lakh to Rs 30,000,’’ chairman A C Muthiah told PTI.

IIM Lucknow, too, has endorsed the fee cut while IIM Indore, the youngest one, put its foot down and said that it would wait for the Supreme Court verdict.

For the IIM Kolkata faculty, however, today was disappointing given that it had published a position paper showing how the fee cut would erode autonomy as it was ‘‘a package … (of) three restrictions (having) adverse consequences for revenue generation’’: regime of price control, HRD’s advice that IIMs ‘‘dissave’’ their corpus and restrictions on donations.

Moreover, the faculty expressed serious concerns over the signal from the Government to do away with CAT entrance, group discussion and the interview.

At today’s meeting, the HRD ministry was strongly represented by its joint secretary, technical education, V S Pandey and its financial advisor, V K Pipersania—the same two officials who threatened the IIM Ahmedabad society of dissolution and takeover.

Sources said the meeting saw angry exchanges between Pandey and director Shekhar Chowdhury and the two other faculty representatives.

Dean Ashish Bhattacharya said that Acting Faculty Convenor Suren Munshi had been invited to present the position paper and the IIM’s stand on the fee cut issue.

Shekhar Chowdhury, director, declined to comment beyond the official statement: ‘‘After considerable discussion, the board has authorised the Chairman to frame a resolution that takes into account the concern of all stakeholders.’’

A major issue at the meeting was the presence of ‘‘Government surrogates.’’ For example, the All India Council of Technical Education was represented by P N Razdan instead of chairman R. Natarajan. The HRD ministry was asked how the AICTE chairman’s right to represent could be passed on to a subordinate.

The presence of S K Dubey, director of IIT Kharagpur, in place of N. Narad, an IAS representative of the ministry of heavy industries, was also debated. Eyebrows were also raised because a new industrialist-member had sent over an industrialist-friend as his representative. Twenty-three of the 26 members were present.

Said Exide chairman S. B. Ganguly who left before the meeting ended: ‘‘The meting has been stormy. There were lots of fights. And so far as my opinion is concerned, I have said we should wait for the Supreme Court’s decision.’’

The sources said that the IIM Kolkata’s Board which is the same as its society has its crucial convocation meeting on April 3. It is on this day that Deveshwar’s resolution would come up for debate. HRD ministry sources said that they were still clarifying with IIM Ahmedabad if their board meeting was on the same date, April 3.

If the two board meetings coincide, it would obviously be impossible for Pandey to be present at both.

Pandey, who flew to Bangalore tonight from Kolkata will be attending yet one more board meeting, this time of IIM Bangalore, tomorrow.

Asked why Kolkata failed to take a decision while IIMs like Lucknow and Indore had taken a decision on fee cuts, Deveshwar said: ‘‘Maybe they are more decisive than we are.’’