Stay away from IITs, IIMs: Knowledge Comm to Govt

The National Knowledge Commission has said that direct involvement of Govt can result in 'unfortunate situations'.

Amid ambitious expansion plans of IIMs and IITs, National Knowledge Commission (NKC) has warned against any interference in their functioning, saying this could lead to ‘unfortunate situations’.

“The direct involvement of Administrative Ministries (in their functioning) can result in unfortunate situations,” NKC Chairman Sam Pitroda said in a recent letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He said it was imperative to ‘separate governance mechanisms from the day-to-day operations of Ministries, in order to protect functional autonomy, in its fullest sense.’

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Pitroda said the appointment of Directors and Vice Chancellors of the new IITs , IIMs, IISERs, Central Universities, AIIMS must be made by a Search Committee that has an independent Chair, capable of exercising the highest quality of judgment.

“The direct involvement of administrative ministries can result in unfortunate situations”, he said. The recent measures by the Government leading to a major expansion of the higher education sector were probably among the most important steps in making India globally competitive in the long run, he said.

The Government has decided to set up eight new IITs, seven IIMs, 30 Central Universities and World Class Universities during the 11th Five Year Plan period.

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