Oversight panel for foolproof OBC certification

The sub-group8217;s interim report, a copy is in possession of The Indian Express, says, 8216;8216;A foolproof system of certification of OBCs should be devised and there should be random checks by the institute or other authorities to be specified.8217;8217;

Describing the massive infrastructure upgradation in the next one year as 8216;8216;an unrealistic goal8217;8217;, it has said implementation of the OBC quota should be staggered over the next few years. The sub-group has put the expansion bill for IIMs at Rs 450 crore 8212; Rs 400 crore as non-recurring and Rs 50 crore as recurring expenditure.

Referring to Oversight Committee chairman Veerappa Moily8217;s diktat that infrastructure should be in place by June 2007, it said,8216;8216;The group felt that this is an unrealistic goal since only less than a year is available to deal with the complex constraints.8217;8217;

Led by Prof Samuel Paul, former director of IIM-Ahmedabad, the panel of IIM directors has put the constraints of expansion for the first time on record ever since the quota controversy broke out. The committee met twice at Chennai and Bangalore before finalising the report.

The constraints

8226; Shortage of faculty; attrition rate is very high; retired faculty are also in great demand; these have led to dependence on visiting faculty, which is not a viable long-term strategy.

8226; Faculty recruitment cycle takes 15 to 18 months.

8226; Sharp decline in the number of PhDs joining the teaching profession, given the growing competition from private sector.

8226; Project construction takes several years depending on the project size; government buildings norms are also a factor; renting for short-term will not be possible for 54 per cent expansion.

8226; Limited availability of land; acquiring land takes time.

8226; Many institutes have been expanding recently on their own, they will have difficulty in increasing student intake at short notice.

Summing up, the sub-group said: 8216;8216;All of them point to serious risks to excellence and quality that may follow any attempt to force the pace of expansion on the institutes, ignoring these constraints.8217;8217;Measures to facilitate speedy expansion

8226; IIMs/B-schools should first fulfill a teacher-student ratio of 1:7; no approvals should be needed and governing bodies should have the last say.

8226; Cadre-ratio may be kept flexible for faculty posts.

8226; Retirement age of existing faculty to be raised to 65 years, can re-employ retired faculty up to 70 years.

8226; Enough flexibility to decide upon the compensation package of the faculty, including leased housing. Attractive packages may be given even outside the defined salary structure.

8226; Teachers willing to take extra load as a result of expansion should be given suitable compensation.

8226; PhD as a mandatory eligibility condition for faculty should be waived in functional areas to get practicing managers from the industry.

8226; The government should support at least 20 PhDs in each IIM

8226; Empowered panels may be set up for speedy expansion.

8226; Flow of funds required for expansion should start immediately and such a flow must be maintained throughout the expansion period.